Bulls Notes: Buzelis, Jones, Giddey, Ball
If there’s a “rookie wall” for Bulls forward Matas Buzelis, he crashed through it Saturday night, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Buzelis scored a career-high 31 points in a convincing win over the Lakers, shooting 12-of-18 from the field and 5-of-10 from three-point range.
It was a welcome breakthrough for Buzelis, whose playing time has been declining recently. Cowley notes that he was shooting just 24% from three-point range over his previous six games and was limited to single digits in points in four of those outings.
“People can say what they want to say,” Buzelis said. “I haven’t hit a wall. I feel like I’ve got good energy out there. There’s been some games where the offense hasn’t really been going for me, but some nights are like that. Defensively, I feel like I’ve been really good.”
It’s been a challenging road trip for Buzelis, who was assigned to guard LeBron James on Saturday after previous matchups with Kevin Durant and DeMar DeRozan. Cowley points out that Thursday’s game in Sacramento was particularly tough for the rookie forward, who was a minus-10 overall and only played about three minutes in the second half.
“I think I’ve learned the most about basketball the last four or five months than I have in my total life,” Buzelis said. “Being in the NBA, playing against all these guys, now it’s just building it, making the tools sharper, everything sharper. Handles, shooting, defense, all of it. I know I’m going to be a really good player. I put the work in, the effort in every day, and I love this sport. I’ll do anything it takes to better myself.”
There’s more on the Bulls:
- With Tre Jones sidelined for at least the next two weeks due to a sprained left foot, there’s only a slight chance he’ll be able to return before the regular season ends on April 13, Cowley states in a separate story. The Bulls would love to have him back for the play-in tournament, which starts two days later, but everything hinges on how quickly he can recover. “The hope is he would be able to come back, but we’re probably not really going to know much until after that ramp-up starts,” coach Billy Donovan said. “He’s going to be in a boot for a while. It’s a pretty moderate sprain in his foot, and once he’s able to clear that hurdle, the next part is going to be where his pain is at, how much he can ramp up and how soon he’ll be able to play. So we probably won’t know much until we get through those two weeks.”
- Josh Giddey narrowly missed a quadruple-double on Saturday with 15 points, 10 rebounds, 17 assists and eight steals. He also went 1-of-2 from three-point range, bringing him to 37.9% from beyond the arc for the season. In the same piece, Cowley notes that long-distance shooting was one of the biggest question marks about Giddey when he was acquired in an offseason trade with Oklahoma City. “I think it’s reps; I haven’t changed anything,” Giddey said. “I started to figure out the last two months, missed shot, made shot, move on to the next one. That mindset has kind of been drilled into me, and that’s helped a lot. Now I’m to the point that if I shoot 10 and miss, I shoot the 11th. A lot of shooting is between the ears, so structurally, I haven’t changed anything.”
- Lonzo Ball has missed 10 straight games with a right wrist injury, but Donovan said there’s hope he can return during an upcoming two-game homestand, Cowley adds.
Return Of James, Hachimura Gives Lakers Fully Healthy Roster
The results weren’t good Saturday night, but the Lakers can take solace in having all their rotation players available for the first time in several weeks, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. LeBron James returned after missing seven games with a groin strain, and Rui Hachimura was back after sitting out 10 games with patellar tendinopathy in his left knee.
Saturday’s 146-115 loss to the Bulls dropped L.A. into fourth place in the West, a half-game behind Denver and three ahead of the Clippers and Timberwolves in the battle for a top-six seed and an automatic playoff berth. Coach J.J. Redick said finishing in the top six is his goal for the stretch drive so his team can have a week to rest and prepare for the playoffs.
“I think that’s a good way to look at it. … ground zero,” Redick said. “These next 12 games, you’ve got to refind your way. It’s a perpetually flowing river that we’ve all of a sudden run into a beaver’s (dam) … and we got to get ready to get the water flowing again.”
James logged 31 minutes in his first game action in two weeks. After finishing with 17 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals, he told reporters that he’s taking it “day by day” in his recovery process.
Hachimura, who had five points and two rebounds in 18 minutes, said his knee is only about “70-80%.” He’s expected to be on a restriction of 20-24 minutes per game for the rest of the season.
“My knee is going to be like that for a while, I think,” he said. “I can’t really get back to 100% right away. I got to rest for a long time to get back to normal. But I don’t think we have that, so we just got to maintain and manage it.”
Continuity appeared to be an issue for the Lakers on Saturday as they turned in their worst defensive performance of the season and committed 21 turnovers, including five by James and seven by Luka Doncic. They were outscored 81-53 in the second half, and the 146 total points they surrendered matches a franchise record for a non-overtime home game, according to Josh Dubow of The Associated Press (Twitter link).
McMenamin points out that the Lakers are entering another tough portion of their schedule as they fight for playoff seeding. They’ll start a four-game trip Monday in Orlando and will play eight of their last 12 on the road. They have three back-to-backs left and just four games remaining against teams that aren’t in the top eight of either conference.
“I think we’re in a great spot,” Doncic said. “Obviously, today wasn’t a good game for us, but I think we’re in a great spot. We’ve got to play hard every game to try not to get in the play-in and try to get the highest seed we can.”
Jimmy Butler Views Return To Miami As ‘Another Game’
Jimmy Butler doesn’t want his return to Miami on Tuesday to be a dramatic event for him or his team, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
Butler, who repeatedly clashed with Heat officials before being traded to the Warriors at last month’s deadline, said he views it as just “another game.” It’s an experience he’s been through several times already after leaving the Bulls, Timberwolves and Sixers.
“Yeah, I was traded from there, yada, yada, yada,” Butler said after Saturday’s loss in Atlanta. “Yeah, it didn’t end the way that people wanted to, yada yada yada. But that’s so far behind me now. I don’t even think about it. I don’t pay attention to nothing except for the trajectory of this squad.”
It was a little more than six weeks ago that the Heat were trying to find their way out of a toxic situation with Butler. He was suspended three times this season — the last one being indefinite — as they searched for someone to take him off their hands. Phoenix was his preferred destination, but Miami couldn’t work out a deal without taking back Bradley Beal in return. The Warriors became a late option after their efforts to land Kevin Durant from the Suns fell through.
The teams have been on much different paths since the trade was completed. Golden State has surged to sixth place in the West, holding a 16-4 record since acquiring Butler. Miami, which is on a 10-game losing streak, has gone 4-17 while falling to 10th in the East.
Butler can probably expect a mixed response from what’s sure to be a boisterous crowd at the Kaseya Center. Although fans might blame him for destroying this season, he’s still beloved for helping the Heat reach the NBA Finals twice in his five and a half seasons with the team.
“Not really, don’t make no difference,” Butler responded when asked if he has any concerns about how fans will react. “I’m a member of the Golden State Warriors. I love that fan base. They showed me a lot of love while I was there. But I’m there to win now. I’m on the opposing team.”
He added that the Heat were “all right” while he played there and made some “cool runs,” but they weren’t able to accomplish their goal of winning an NBA title.
Tuesday’s game will also be a reunion for ex-Warriors Andrew Wiggins and Kyle Anderson, who were sent to Miami in the five-team deal. Wiggins spent five years with Golden State and played an important role in winning the 2022 title. Anderson was in his first season with the Warriors after being traded there in July.
“We got Jimmy over here, I know this is a big game for him,” Draymond Green said. “They got Wiggs over there. I know it’s a huge game for him. We want to win for Jimmy, they’re going to want to win for Wiggs. We got to come out ready to play.”
Northwest Notes: Avdija, Walker, Nuggets, Jokic, Ingles
Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija is enjoying the best scoring stretch of his career, writes Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. Avdija posted a season-high 36 points in Friday’s win over Denver, bringing him to 162 over the last six games. He was a productive scorer during his first four NBA seasons in Washington, but he has raised his game since being traded to Portland last summer.
“I don’t think I’ve played like this before,” he said. “I think I knew I had it in me. But I’m not really thinking about it. I’m just playing. I’m just free. I love playing around the guys. I love making plays. I love being on the court with our team, regardless of how I score or how much I score.”
Avdija is among the reasons Portland has become a surprise contender for the final play-in spot in the West. Not only is he scoring at a career-best rate of 15.9 PPG, he’s also pushing the ball up-court and setting up teammates, averaging 5.7 assists during those same six games.
“His play-making is getting better,” coach Chauncey Billups said. “He actually cares about play-making. He’s learning and learning and learning about his guys. They’re learning him.”
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- Jabari Walker, who missed the past four games while in concussion protocol, is listed as questionable for the Trail Blazers‘ meeting with Boston on Sunday, tweets Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report. Anfernee Simons and Donovan Clingan, who sat out Friday’s game due to illness, are also questionable.
- The defensive issues that have been plaguing the Nuggets were on display again Friday at Portland, observes Troy Renck of The Denver Post. They surrendered 128 points to a Blazers team that was missing its leading scorer and fell to 8-8 since the All-Star break. Renck adds that losing Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the last two offseasons has left coach Michael Malone with no answers for certain matchup problems.
- Nuggets star Nikola Jokic will miss his fourth straight game Sunday in Houston with a left ankle impingement, according to Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Post (Twitter link). Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun are all probable.
- Joe Ingles hasn’t played much this season, but Timberwolves coach Chris Finch put him in the starting lineup on Friday so his eight-year-old autistic son could watch him play, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Jacob Ingles was recently able to sit through his first game without sensory overload, and Finch wanted to do something to honor the family. “This is the stuff,” Ingles said, “I’ll remember forever.”
Heat Notes: Adebayo, Herro, Losing Streak, Wiggins, Riley
The Heat could be missing their two best players as they try to end a 10-game losing streak Sunday night against Charlotte, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
Bam Adebayo is listed as questionable with a left knee sprain he suffered while setting a screen in Friday’s game against Houston. He had a sleeve on his left leg and walked with a limp on Saturday at the team’s annual Family Festival, according to Chiang. Tyler Herro was also banged up against the Rockets, suffering a contusion on his left hip, and he’s listed as questionable as well.
Although it’s been a down season for the Heat, their stars have been remarkably durable. Adebayo has appeared in 68 of the team’s first 70 games, while Herro has played in 67. The losing streak has dropped Miami 12 games below .500 at 29-41, but the team still has a comfortable five-game lead over Toronto in the race for the final play-in spot.
There’s more from Miami:
- The Heat would have to win all 12 of their remaining games to avoid their first losing season since 2018/19, Chiang states in a separate story. Chiang lists 10 low-lights from the losing streak, including the fact that Miami has been outscored by an average of 27.9 points per 100 possessions during the fourth quarter of the last 10 games. Since the streak began, they have fallen from the 14th-worst record in the league to the eighth-worst. “It’s a resilient team, tough-minded team to be able to keep on coming back and competing at a high level,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We all understand that we need to do more, particularly in these moments of truth. But it’s not from a lack of competition or spirit, and that’s not going to change with this group.”
- The lone bright spot from Friday night was the return of Andrew Wiggins, who missed the previous two games with a lower leg contusion. Chiang notes that even though the contusion has healed, Wiggins is still dealing with the lingering effects of a sprained right ankle he suffered in late February. He played nearly 30 minutes on Friday and scored 30 points.
- As Pat Riley turned 80 on Thursday, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel questioned whether the Heat’s longtime president can still attract top-level talent to Miami. Winderman contends that Riley’s only major acquisition of the last decade, apart from the draft, came when he traded for Jimmy Butler in 2019.
Lakers Notes: Schedule, LeBron, Bronny, Redick
The Lakers were relieved to break even in an exhausting stretch of games over the past week, writes Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. The devastating wildfires that hit Los Angeles in January caused several games to be postponed until later in the season. That resulted in the team playing six times in eight days, with three back-to-backs.
“Big picture … feel good that you go 3-3 in this stretch,” coach J.J. Redick said. “It was going to be tough no matter what. The added game made it harder. I don’t think the game that exists today in the NBA and the modern NBA player is like (built to do this). I wouldn’t be either if this was what I came up in and this was the game that I had to play every night. It’s different than when I first started. You’re not built to play six games in eight nights. The game doesn’t allow you to play six games in eight nights. It’s just impossible. That’s why we, I don’t think, have four in five anymore.”
L.A. played without four of its starters in Thursday’s loss to Milwaukee as Redick, whose team was already short-handed due to injuries, tried to avoid overworking anyone. That game was originally set for Tuesday, but it had to be rescheduled when a San Antonio matchup from January 11 was moved to Monday. Rookie wing Dalton Knecht and two-way guard Jordan Goodwin were the only Lakers to play in each of the last six games.
“What our guys just went through, it’s difficult,” Redick added. “And the old heads are gonna talk about how physical it was in the (1980s) and (1990s) and that’s fine. But the level of physicality in our game and the way that the court has to be covered and all the movement, it’s tough. And I’m just glad to be on the other side of it and hopefully going forward we are healthy and can make a push here.”
There’s more from Los Angeles:
- LeBron James has been cleared to return for tonight’s contest against Chicago, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). He sat out seven games with a groin injury he suffered two weeks ago. Rui Hachimura, who has missed the last 10 games with patellar tendinopathy, has also been upgraded to available, along with Luka Doncic, Dorian Finney-Smith, Austin Reaves, Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent, McMenamin adds (Twitter link).
- Bronny James offered some evidence that he can succeed at the NBA level during Thursday’s game, McMenamin states in a full story. With nearly half the roster unavailable, Bronny played 30 minutes and finished with a season-high 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting, along with five assists, three rebounds and a blocked shot. “Not surprised by tonight,” Redick said. “I think his confidence is growing. … I think the next step is just becoming an elite-conditioned athlete. Because when (he) does that, with his physical tools and his burst and his handle — and we think he’s going to be an above-average to really good NBA shooter — he’s going to have a chance to really make an impact.”
- Redick is proving he can handle the challenges of being an NBA head coach, contends Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register, who admits she was among the doubters when he was hired last June.
Celtics Notes: New Owner, Horford, Kornet, Hauser, Pritchard, Mazzulla
The record-setting $6.1 billion purchase price for the Celtics is just the beginning of William Chisholm‘s investment in the franchise. As Jay King of The Athletic notes, Chisholm is taking over a team with a massive salary and huge expectations that will become even more expensive if the core of the roster is kept together.
Boston’s payroll is projected to be in the neighborhood of $445MM next season in salaries and luxury tax, per John Hollinger of The Athletic. That’s without free agents Al Horford and Luke Kornet, who would push that total higher if they’re both re-signed.
As players waited out the sale process, Jayson Tatum talked about the importance of finding a new owner who understands “the culture” and Jaylen Brown expressed the need to “keep the emphasis on winning.” Both statements reflect the necessity for continued spending for the Celtics to remain at a championship level, as King adds that the fanbase will quickly turn on the new owner if talent is sacrificed to save money.
“That’s something that they’ll have to figure out,” Horford said. “Ultimately, they’ll be the new owners of the team, they’ll have to make those decisions. But this is my 18th season in the league and there are very few times when you get a special group or a certain window of guys that you can do some special things. So I’m sure that they will be aware of that but that’s something that you have to understand what you’re stepping into.”
There’s more from Boston:
- Bobby Marks of ESPN believes the roster is “sustainable” for the near future, even with the giant tax bills (Twitter video link). Marks points out that the Celtics have 11 players under contract for next season — including Tatum and Brown, who are both signed to long-term deals — and they’ll have two picks in the top 32 of this year’s draft. However, he adds that it could be hard to keep complementary players like Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard long-term because of the effect they’ll have on the luxury tax.
- Coach Joe Mazzulla came away encouraged from his first meeting with the new owner, according to Adam Himmeslbach of The Boston Globe. Chisholm, a Massachusetts native and life-long Celtics fan, pledged to build on the team’s recent success. “Just continue to win championships, continue to be a high-level organization on and off the court, and he obviously has a lot of experience doing that in other endeavors,” Mazzulla said. “So just continuing to work to make the Celtics better, and then kind of give us a shot every year to go after a championship. So I’m excited about that.”
- Chisholm expressed similar sentiments to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter links). “The team is in a great place right now, and I’m very sensitive to that,” he said. (Current owner) Wyc (Grousbeck), (president of basketball operations) Brad (Stevens) and Joe have done amazing jobs. … My approach is to win and raise banners. That’s in the near term and the long term. I bleed green. I love the Celtics. When opportunity came up, I couldn’t pass it up. Wyc has done an incredible job. So why would you mess that up? I’ve had a couple of sitdowns with Brad and it’s been about aligning our goals and extending the window of this team.”
- Eric Fisher of Front Office Sports examines the record price tag, attributing it to the scarcity of pro sports franchises for sale and the NBA’s new media rights deal.
Kings Promote Isaac Jones To Standard Contract
7:18pm: Jones’ new contract is official, tweets James Ham of The Kings Beat.
6:14pm: The Kings will convert two-way center Isaac Jones to a standard contract covering two years, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Jones, 24, reached his active-game limit on Wednesday after playing four minutes in a victory over Cleveland. As a two-way player who has been with his team since the start of the season, Jones was eligible to be on the active roster for 50 games, whether he played or not.
Jones will be able to resume playing immediately, starting with tonight’s home game against Milwaukee, assuming the new contract is finalized in time. The deal also enables him to participate in the postseason, including play-in games.
Jones signed the two-way contract in July after going undrafted out of Washington State. He has appeared in 31 games in his rookie season, averaging 3.7 points and 1.5 rebounds in 8.3 minutes per night and shooting 67.6% from the field. He has also played 11 regular season games with the team’s G League affiliate in Stockton.
Jones provides interior depth while starting center Domantas Sabonis is sidelined with a sprained right ankle. Sabonis is expected to remain out of action for at least another week.
Sacramento has an opening on its 15-man roster, so another move won’t be necessary before Jones can be promoted. The Kings won’t be able to add someone else to replace him because the deadline for signing two-way players was March 4.
Jalen Brunson Doing Controlled Workouts, Likely To Miss At Least Another Week
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, who has been sidelined since March 6 with a sprained right ankle, continues to make progress toward a return. The team announced (via Twitter) that he has started doing controlled court work, and his status will be updated in “approximately one week.”
Tonight will mark the eighth game that Brunson has missed since suffering the injury in the closing minutes of an overtime loss to the Lakers. New York has gone 3-4 since then and remains in third place in the East, three games ahead of Indiana.
With their playoff position virtually set, there’s no reason for the Knicks to bring back Brunson before he’s fully healed. A report earlier this week said he’s out of his walking boot and has been cleared to do some “light shooting.”
ESPN’s Shams Charania stated last Saturday that the severity of Brunson’s ankle injury make it “more of a three- to four-week minimum return time frame.”
Brunson is in the midst of another stellar season, averaging 26.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 7.4 assists per night and making his second straight All-Star appearance. He’s a strong contender for All-NBA honors, but he’ll have to play four more times to meet the NBA’s 65-game criteria.
Heat Notes: Losing Streak, Wiggins, Starting Lineup, Rozier, Draft Pick
The Heat are in the midst of their longest losing streak in 17 years after falling to the Pistons on Wednesday on Cade Cunningham‘s last-second shot (Twitter video link), writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Cunningham banked in a three-pointer shortly before the buzzer, enabling Detroit to escape with a 116-113 victory in a game that Miami led most of the way.
“There’s no way to explain some of this, the bank shot at the end,” coach Erik Spoelstra said after his team suffered its ninth straight loss. “There’s no way to explain that. You just have to find more resolve. We’re all getting tested in so many different ways that we do not want to get tested.”
Although the Heat still aren’t in serious danger of falling out of the play-in tournament, they have dropped to 10th place at 29-40. Their schedule doesn’t get any easier as the Rockets, who are second in the West, visit on Friday. After hosting the Hornets on Sunday, they will welcome Jimmy Butler back to the Kaseya Center in Tuesday’s matchup with the Warriors.
There’s more from Miami:
- Andrew Wiggins, who was the centerpiece of the Heat’s return in the Butler trade, sat out Wednesday’s game with a lower left leg contusion and has only played in 11 of 19 games since the deal, Chiang adds. He’s put up decent numbers when he has been available — averaging 18.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists while shooting 42.2% from the field and 30.9% from three-point range — but Miami is just 2-9 in those games. “He’s had some really good moments already,” Spoelstra said. “You can see the firepower he brings and the versatility that he brings to us defensively. And we have who we have tonight. He’s not available, but we definitely could use him.”
- With Wiggins out, Spoelstra used his 22nd different starting lineup, per Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. It marked the first time this season that Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Duncan Robinson and Jaime Jaquez have been on the court together. Terry Rozier wasn’t used at all, getting his fourth DNP-CD in the last 14 games.
- In a separate story, Chiang talks to Bobby Marks of ESPN about the Heat’s draft pick dilemma. Miami’s first-rounder will go to Oklahoma City if the Heat reach the playoffs and it lands outside the top 14. However, if Miami keeps the pick this year, it will owe the Thunder an unprotected first-round selection in 2026. Marks’ advice is for the Heat to try to earn a playoff spot and count on improving next season.