Rudy Gobert To Return For Game 4
After being upgraded to questionable earlier in the day, it now appears as though Rudy Gobert is healthy enough to return to action tonight, Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets.
Gobert had been sidelined since banging his knee on the first play of Game 1. Shortly after the injury was sustained, the big man underwent X-rays and an MRI which both revealed that there was no structural damage.
With Gobert in the lineup, the Jazz will get the opportunity to exact revenge on a Clippers team that has hopped out to a 2-1 lead over their shorthanded opponents. In Game 3, of course, Clips forward Blake Griffin went down with a toe injury that will cost him the remainder of the postseason.
In 81 games for the Jazz this season, Gobert emerged as a Defensive Player of the Year candidate with an improved offensive game. His 14.0 points and 12.8 rebounds per game, coupled with the sheer length that he possesses around the rim, will serve the visiting Utah squad well.
Northwest Notes: Nurkic, Gobert, Garnett
After playing sparingly in Game 3, Jusuf Nurkic and the Trail Blazers have decided to shelve the big man once again. Per Mike Richman of the Oregonian, the Bosnian Beast will not play at all in Game 4.
“He didn’t do any further damage,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said of Nurkic playing through a fractured leg. “There was soreness, tenderness and it just wouldn’t be wise to have him play through that.”
Limited to shifts of 3-5 minutes, Nurkic didn’t catch much of a rhythm on offense. Though he pulled down 11 rebounds, he only scored two points in his 17 minutes on the court.
There’s more from the Northwest:
- When the Jazz tip off for Game 4 of their first-round series later tonight there’s a 50% chance that they’ll see Rudy Gobert return to action, Tim MacMahon of ESPN writes. The big man was formally updated to questionable earlier today.
- The Jazz failed to capitalize when Clippers forward Blake Griffin left Game 3 injured but the fact that fans can ruminate on the team’s inability to slow Chris Paul simply means that they’re playing meaningful games again, Brad Rock of the Deseret News writes, and that’s something that they can be excited for.
- For the second time in a week, former Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett spoke about his relationship with franchise owner Glen Taylor. A report on ESPN details the conversation KG had with the Associated Press, including how he felt Flip Saunders‘ passing was handled.
BIG3 Notes: Calendar, Locations, Scalabrine
Important dates for the upcoming BIG3 league have been revealed, with the eight-team draft lottery scheduled for April 28, followed by the draft combine the next day and the formal three-on-three draft on April 30. The organization revealed as much to the Associated Press earlier this week.
The league will tip off on June 25 and has now published its full calendar, including game locations, on its website terminating with a championship game in Las Vegas on August 26.
Although it hasn’t been formally reported, the schedule post provides the name for the final club, the Ball Hogs. The other seven teams had been previously announced and are outlined in our BIG3 Roster Database.
In addition, the schedule announcement lists Brian Scalabrine as the Ball Hog’s team captain. They’ll be coached by Rick Barry and co-captained by a player to be named later. Scalabrine’s inclusion had already been made public but this is the first time he’s been linked to a captaincy.
Also worth noting is that this, the most recent press release published, mentions how games will be decided. Rather than being based on a typical game clock, the winner will be the first team to reach 60 points. The full list of game rules, however, had been published previously.
For a complete, updated, list of all the players expected to be in the draft pool, check out our BIG3 Roster Database.
Week In Review: 4/15/17 – 4/22/17
The NBA playoffs are well underway and we’ve already seen some unexpected plot twists and notable developments. Here’s a breakdown of the week that was, the players who will watch their squads play from the sidelines and a few rumors that may shed light on what the lottery-bound lot might do this offseason.
Transactions
- The Hornets opted to decline their team option on 21-year-old Christian Wood‘s contract. The big man was sparsely used in his first season in Charlotte.
Injuries
- For the second year in a row, Clippers forward Blake Griffin will exit the postseason before his team. In Game 3 of their first-round matchup with the Jazz, Griffin injured the plantar plate of his big toe.
- In Game 1 of their first-round series against the Clippers, Jazz center Rudy Gobert injured his knee and hasn’t played since.
- A fractured thumb will sideline Bulls guard Rajon Rondo indefinitely, he sustained the injury in Game 2 of their first-round series with the Celtics.
News
- The Kings have hired Scotty Perry to serve as their executive vice president. Perry was most recently the assistant general manager to Rob Hennigan with the Magic.
- The NBA’s draft order is coming into view following the breaking of several regular season tiebreakers.
- Tragedy struck the NBA community this week when Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas‘ younger sister, Chyna Thomas, was killed in a car accident just prior to the start of the postseason.
- A former fiancee has accused Jazz center Jeff Withey of domestic violence but Withey’s attorney emphatically denies the claim.
Rumors
- Word has it the Pistons will match any offer restricted free agent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope can scrounge up this offseason. The two-guard averaged 13.8 points per game in a down year for Detroit.
- Though he plans to opt out with his player options, Danilo Gallinari is said to prefer staying with the Nuggets through free agency.
- There were no shortage of reaction posts to Phil Jackson‘s bizarre, negative press conference earlier this month. The head of the player’s union, Michele Roberts, formally called the Knicks executive’s behavior “inappropriate.”
- The Magic are said to be eyeing Cavaliers general manager David Griffin as a possible replacement for Rob Hennigan, with whom they parted ways last week.
- The Celtics coaching staff was reportedly interested in acquiring Carmelo Anthony this season but the front office, not so much.
- If it’s up to him, Clippers head coach and president of basketball operations, Doc Rivers, said that he’d like to retain L.A.’s core, despite the looming free agencies of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and J.J. Redick.
- After a down season in New York, Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis says that he’ll spend his offseason in Latvia. It’s also been reported that Carmelo Anthony could dig in and resist a trade this summer.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 4/15/17 – 4/22/17
The Hoops Rumors team was busy pumping out original content this week and we’ve broken it all down for you here. Take a look at some of our favorite pieces and let us know what you think.
- It’s getting harder to contain enthusiasm for the upcoming draft. Here’s a summary of the recent tiebreaker results and a tentative look at the 2017 NBA Draft order.
- We completely revamped how we feature content from around the NBA blogosphere. This week we showcase our favorite original content with our own analysis and rating. Send us your NBA links for next week’s edition!
- We explored the “dead money” that teams have sitting on their books this year and what that means.
- We gathered a panel of Hoops Rumors staffers to vote on the year-end awards.
- We were torn between Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo for Most Improved.
- We gave the nod to Lou Williams for Sixth Man.
- We put Rudy Gobert just ahead of Draymond Green for Defensive Player of the Year.
- We chose Malcolm Brogdon over Joel Embiid for Rookie of the Year.
- We decided that Russell Westbrook was this year’s MVP.
- We conducted polls to determine what the All-NBA teams should be. Here are the results, determined by readers.
- First Team. (Westbrook, Harden, James, Leonard, Davis)
- Second Team. (Curry, Thomas, Antetokounmpo, Durant, Towns)
- Third Team. (Wall, DeRozan, Butler, George, Gobert)
- Only two teams finished above the NBA’s luxury tax threshold, we broke down the culprits and the impact that will have on those organizations and the rest of the league.
- Four teams finished below the NBA’s salary floor this season, we looked at who those were and what that means.
- We answered reader inquiries in our Weekly Mailbag, including questions about Klay Thompson‘s eventual free agency and the forecast for next year’s Lakers club. Be sure to get your questions in for inclusion in next week’s mailbag.
- We always like to gauge what our readers think about pressing matters. Our Community Shootaround this week asked people who they think the next head coach fired will be.
- If you missed last week’s Hoops Rumors Originals summary, you can catch up here.
- Did you know that you can get a Trade Rumors app for iOS and Android? Well, you can. And should.
And-Ones: Bargnani, Akognon, Early Entrants
With his first official campaign out of the NBA now in the books, Andrea Bargnani is discussing a buyout with Saski Baskonia in the ACB League, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando tweets.
Bargnani has been injured since February and hasn’t suited up for the Spanish EuroLeague club since. He did average 11.5 points in the 14 games he played while healthy.
Last July, the 31-year-old former first overall NBA Draft choice signed a two-year deal with the organization.
There’s more from around the NBA.
- International hoops journeyman Josh Akognon, who last saw NBA action with the Mavs in 2012/13, recently signed a contract with the Henan of the Chinese NBL. Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia relayed a tweet by David Pick, who reported the news.
- Greek point guard prospect Antonios Koniaris will enter the 2017 NBA Draft, Jonathan Givony of Draft Express tweets. The athletic playmaker already has an agent.
- Redshirted Gonzaga forward Johnathan Williams will test the waters for the NBA Draft, the Bulldogs announced on their official website. The junior has not hired an agent.
- Junior guard Victor Sanders has declared for the NBA Draft, Idaho head coach Don Verlin told Ryan Horlen of the Idaho Statesman. He has not hired an agent.
- Count Texas Tech’s Zach Smith among those looking to test their draft stock. Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweets that the junior big man has declared but not hired an agent.
Wizards Notes: Wall, Mahinmi, Jennings
The first round of the 2017 postseason has thus far served as an opportunity for John Wall to showcase his progress as an NBA superstar, Jonathan Tjarks of the Ringer writes in a new feature. These playoffs, he says, belong to the 26-year-old guard.
Up an early two games on the Hawks, Wall and the Wizards have been particularly tough on Atlanta. The relatively unheralded point guard has simply outmatched Dennis Schroder throughout their time on the court together.
Considering that Wall still doesn’t even have a signature shoe deal, as Tjarks points out, he’s flown under the radar compared to his superstar NBA counterparts. That would change if Wall is able to carry the Wizards into an Eastern Conference Finals showdown with the Cavaliers.
There’s more from Washington:
- Center Ian Mahinmi didn’t play for the Wizards in either Games 1 or 2 of their first-round series and isn’t expected to be available in the next two either, Ava Wallace of the Washington Post tweets.
- The NBA has come down on Kelly Oubre Jr. with a $25K fine for kicking a ball into the stands and striking a spectator, the league announced in a press release. The second-year guard kicked the ball into the air during Washington’s post-game celebration.
- Acquired to provide a spark off the bench for the Wizards, Brandon Jennings did exactly that in Washington’s Game 2 over the Hawks. The eight-year veteran has been a valuable source of experience, too, writes Ava Wallace for the Washington Post.
Griffin Injures Toe, Out For Playoffs
9:30am: The Clippers have announced that Griffin will miss the remainder of the postseason with an injury to the plantar plate of his right big toe. Marc J. Spears of ESPN relayed the press release over Twitter.
8:24am: The Clippers avoided a worst case scenario when it was revealed that Blake Griffin‘s toe was bruised and not broken but battling through to a championship without their forward at full strength is unrealistic, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times writes.
A silver lining for the franchise is that it was quickly discovered through initial X-rays that the 28-year-old’s right big toe was bruised and not broken. Clippers courtside reporter Kristina Pink tweeted as much during the game.
Per Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times, Griffin was scheduled to undergo an MRI following the game on Friday night.
Both head coach Doc Rivers and point guard Chris Paul understand the impact that the toe issue could have on their postseason fates.
“We won’t be able to play through the post so much,” Paul said. “Blake is such a dynamic player. We go to him in the post, and we cut and move off of him. He’s our other assist guy. There’s just a different feeling when he’s on the court.”
The news conjures images of last year’s first-round series against the Trail Blazers when both Griffin and Paul went down with injuries.
Expect the Clippers to build upon the 2-1 lead they eked out with Griffin sidelined, Hernandez writes, but unless some good news comes through the pipeline soon, that may be all they get.
According to Turner, Rivers expects that news to come Saturday with Griffin’s Game 4 status still questionable in the meantime.
And-Ones: DVP Exception, Stern, BWB
It hasn’t been decided if the All-NBA teams will be announced during the league’s first ever award show on June 26 but regardless of when the teams are revealed they’ll have an impact on two pending free agents, John Smallwood of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes.
Neither Blake Griffin nor Gordon Hayward will win the MVP of Defensive Player of the Year award, Smallwood writes, but the two will be in contention to land a spot among the three year-end teams. This year, that’s more important than ever.
Thanks to the new collective bargaining agreement, players whose portfolios boast particular impressive accolades will be eligible for more money in the form of the Designated Veteran Exception.
Another player that will be impacted by the new exception is Stephen Curry but since the MVP clause covers anybody who won that award in the previous three seasons, his is already locked in.
It’s unclear how exactly the formal announcements will unfold but even without the drama of a formal award show, this year’s revelations will be more dramatic than any we’ve seen previously.
There’s more from around the league:
- Though he’s no longer the commissioner of the NBA, David Stern is still very much involved with the league and the sport of basketball, Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press writes. The article discusses some of the 74-year-old’s latest endeavors.
- For the first time ever, Basketball Without Borders is setting up camp in Israel, E. Carchia of Sportando writes. BWB has reached 134 countries and territories since 2001.
- The NBDL Player of the Year is former Cavaliers training camp invitee John Holland, the Cleveland D-League affiliate announced in an official press release. The guard averaged 22.9 points per game for the Canton Charge.
Thunder Notes: Westbrook, Kanter, MVP
After an historic regular season, Russell Westbrook‘s magic hasn’t been quite enough to lead the Thunder to success against the Rockets but that doesn’t mean Billy Donovan‘s confidence in the star guard is wavering, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN details.
“I have an enormous amount of trust and confidence after being with Russell this season for 82 games and seeing the ways he’s closed out games and different things that he’s done,” the Thunder bench boss said.
Westbrook put up 14 missed shots in the fourth quarter of the Thunder’s Wednesday night loss, the highest recorded in the past 20 years, but his track record of success in the clutch is otherwise impressive.
Per Shelburne:
In the regular season, Westbrook’s 82 made field goals in clutch time (the last five minutes of a game, with the score within 5) were 18 more than any other player.
There’s more from the Thunder:
- Though his defensive inefficiencies come to light when James Harden is on the court, the answer may not be as simple as trotting Enes Kanter out there when he’s on the bench, Berry Tramel of the Oklahoman writes. When Kanter is on the court and Harden is sitting, the Rockets have outscored the Thunder 48-31.
- The NBA has fined Russell Westbrook $15K for using inappropriate language in a press conference, the league reports in a press release.
- Though it’s one of the most heated MVP races in recent memory, four of five Hoops Rumors staffers selected Russell Westbrook as this year’s winner. “James Harden’s season was special, but Westbrook’s was historic,” Arthur Hill said.