Pacers Notes: Haliburton, Game 2, Officiating, Carlisle
Tyrese Haliburton was a non-factor offensively in the Pacers’ tight loss to the Knicks during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Monday. Haliburton had just six points and committed three turnovers.
The Pacers advanced past the Bucks in the opening round even though their star guard shot 43.5% from the field and 29.6% on 3-point attempts, Brian Lewis of the New York Post notes. Haliburton only attempted six shots and did dish out eight assists in Monday’s four-point defeat.
“He gets trapped every time he comes off and pick and roll. And the best thing about Tyrese is he won’t force a bad shot,” fellow guard T.J. McConnell said. “He gets others involved and we trust him wholeheartedly. With the ball in his hands every single time.”
We have more on the Pacers:
- Haliburton spoke about his offensive woes after the team’s practice on Tuesday and vowed to be better in Game 2. “I erred on the side of play-making … and that wasn’t the right decision for me,” Haliburton said, per Brian Windhorst of ESPN. “I still got to be who I am, but yeah, I’ll just be better (Wednesday).” Haliburton is dealing with back spasms and is listed as questionable for Game 2, as he was entering the series. “I’m confident he’ll play, but it’s a concern,” coach Rick Carlisle said.
- The Pacers had a right to be upset with the officiating in Game 1 but generally chose to take the high road, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star writes. During the final minute, forward Aaron Nesmith deflected a pass with his hand that was called a kicked ball, stopping play dead instead of giving the Pacers a steal that they could have turned into a fast-break bucket. With 12 seconds left and the Pacers down 118-117, Myles Turner was called for an offensive foul for an illegal screen. “I don’t want to talk about the officiating,” Carlisle said. “We’re not expecting to get calls in here.” Turner felt the officials’ controversial calls marred a thrilling contest. “In my experience in this league, I think it’s best when the players decide the outcome of the game,” Turner said. “I think it’s unfortunate that it happened.” The league’s Last Two Minutes report indicated Turner did commit an offensive foul, Ian Begley of SNY TV tweets. Video of the plays can be found here (Twitter links).
- Carlisle said in the pregame press conference on Monday that the Mavericks tried hard to trade up and snag Haliburton in the 2020 draft, when he slipped to the 12th pick, Dopirak tweets. “We thought he was the best player in the draft that year when we were in Dallas. We were trying desperately to trade up to get him,” Carlisle said. During a 2023 podcast appearance, Dallas’ then-owner, Mark Cuban, confirmed the team’s interest in trading up for Haliburton.
Mitchell Robinson Out For Remainder Of Postseason
Knicks center Mitchell Robinson has sustained a stress injury to his left ankle and will miss the remainder of the postseason, according to the team’s PR department (Twitter link).
Robinson won’t even be reevaluated for six-to-eight weeks, thus his injury-marred season is over. The big man underwent testing late this afternoon, which determined the extent of the injury, according to Ian Begley of SNY TV (Twitter link). He won’t require surgery, Begley adds.
Earlier in the evening, the team ruled him out for Wednesday’s Game 2 against the Pacers due to left ankle injury management. It’s now apparent the injury is much more serious.
Robinson played just 12 minutes in New York’s Game 1 victory, contributing two points, two rebounds and an assist. He also missed one game during the first-round series against Philadelphia after spraining the same ankle.
Robinson underwent left ankle surgery in December. He didn’t return until March 27.
Overall, Robinson only appeared in 31 regular season games. He has two years remaining on his four-year, front-loaded $60MM contract.
With Robinson out, Precious Achiuwa‘s role figures to expand dramatically. He played just four minutes off the bench as the team’s eighth man on Monday.
Jamal Murray Fined $100K, Avoids Suspension
Nuggets guard Jamal Murray has been fined $100K for throwing multiple objects in the direction of a game official during Game 2 of their playoff series against the Timberwolves, the league announced in a press release. However, Murray averted a suspension.
Murray threw a towel toward the court during the second quarter of the Nuggets’ 106-80 loss on Monday, then tossed a heat pack that made it onto the court during live play (Twitter video link).
The incident, which Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch referred to after the game as “dangerous” and “inexcusable,” wasn’t caught in the moment by game officials. Referee crew chief Marc Davis said Murray would have been assessed with a technical foul if they knew Murray had thrown the heat pack.
Murray, who scored just eight points on 3-of-18 shooting, has been battling a calf injury during the playoffs.
Knicks’ Mitchell Robinson Won’t Play On Wednesday
Knicks center Mitchell Robinson won’t play in Game 2 against the Pacers on Wednesday. The team has already ruled him out due to left ankle injury management, Steve Popper of Newsday tweets.
Robinson played just 12 minutes in New York’s Game 1 victory, contributing two points, two rebounds and an assist. He also missed one game during the first-round series against Philadelphia.
New York’s starters are already playing heavy minutes, with starting center Isaiah Hartenstein logging 38 minutes in Game 1. Forward Precious Achiuwa, who played just four minutes off the bench as the team’s eighth man on Monday, will likely see more action with Robinson unavailable.
Robinson underwent left ankle surgery in December and sprained his ankle during Game 3 against the Sixers.
Rudy Gobert Named Defensive Player Of Year For Fourth Time
Rudy Gobert has been named the Defensive Player of the Year for the fourth time in his career, the NBA announced on Tuesday (via Twitter).
The Timberwolves center joins Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace as the only four-time winners of the award. Gobert also claimed the award in 2018, 2019, and 2021 when he played for Utah.
Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama, who was unanimously voted the Rookie of the Year on Tuesday, finished second in the voting, with the Heat‘s Bam Adebayo a distant third.
Gobert was the league’s second-leading rebounder (12.9 per game) and sixth-leading shot-blocker (2.1). More significantly, he anchored a Timberwolves defense that held opponents to a league-low 106.5 points per game during the regular season. Minnesota was also best in defensive field goal percentage, limiting opponents to 39.0 percent shooting.
Gobert received 72 of a possible 99 first-place votes while compiling 433 points. Wembanyama, who was the league’s top shot-blocker at 3.6 per game, received 19 first-place votes and earned 245 points.
Adebayo received three first-place votes and wound up with 91 points, eight more than fourth-place finisher Anthony Davis of the Lakers (four first-place votes).
Pelicans forward Herbert Jones finished fifth and Celtics guard Jrue Holiday, who notched the other first-place vote, was sixth. The full voting results can be found here.
Frank: Clippers Will Look To Keep Core Group Intact
The Clippers are hopeful of bringing back their core group despite the team’s first-round loss to Dallas, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank told assembled media during a Monday press conference.
Kawhi Leonard has already signed a three-year extension but the team’s three other big stars could all depart. Paul George has a $48.8MM player option on his contract for next season, while James Harden will be an unrestricted free agent. Russell Westbrook holds a $4MM option on his 2024/25 contract.
The Clippers and George chose to defer extension talks around the All-Star break, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
“We’d like to be able to bring back and retain Paul and James,” Frank said. “We’re hopeful we can, but also understand and respect the fact that they’re free agents. Paul has a decision with his option. James will be an unrestricted free agent, so our intent is to bring him back, but also realize that they’re elite players and they’ll have choices.”
The Sixers and Magic are expected to pursue George if he opts out, Janis Carr of the Orange County Register writes.
George is eligible to sign up to a four-year, $221MM extension, though it’s reasonable to assume the Clippers are pursuing a lesser amount, considering that they failed to reach an agreement during the season. Shams Charania of The Athletic confirmed on FanDuel’s Run it Back show (Twitter video link) on Monday that L.A. has offered George less than his full max.
“We want Paul, we value Paul,” Frank said. “Paul’s done some tremendous things here. He’s an elite player, and our biggest thing is we always want to be able to treat players well and pay them fairly, and we also have to build out a team, especially, this is a new CBA. But in terms of the exact money, I would never go into details other than we’ve had really, really good conversations over the course of the year and hopeful that we can get him to remain a Clipper.”
Harden said right after the series that he “hadn’t even thought” about his free agency.
As for Westbrook, Frank said he’d hold discussions with the former MVP regarding his role next season, if he decides to opt in. Westbrook was the team’s sixth man for a majority of the season.
“I’ll sit down with Russ. (Tyronn Lue) will sit down with Russ, talk with his representatives and you kind of outline what the role is going forward,” Frank said, per Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. “It’s very similar to when Russ came last summer. Like, we explained to him exactly what his role is, what it could be, the different guys that we’re looking at and then Russ has a decision to make. And so we’re kind of going through the process. So, I’m not going to speak for any player in terms of what they’re thinking, but that’s our process.”
Frank said he’ll also pursue extensions with center Ivica Zubac and wing Terance Mann, per Carr, then look to make marginal improvements if he’s able to retain his stars.
Southwest Notes: Irving, Mavericks, Pelicans, Biberovic
After being the center of controversy in previous stops, Kyrie Irving has found peace and contentment with the Mavericks, Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com writes.
“From the outside, you look at his calmness, he’s at peace,” said coach Jason Kidd, who received an extension on Monday. “And sometimes at a certain age in life, that comes about. But also, with the people he’s around maybe . . . that could also have something to do with it. But you can see, he’s smiling, he’s happy and he’s been that way, I think, since he arrived last year at the trade deadline. I thought you saw that he was happy and at peace. And he’s been very consistent with that to this point. I think he’s just happy.”
Irving concurs that he’s matured and become a more positive person.
“What you’re seeing now is a version of me that I’m proud of,” he said. “I look at myself every day in the mirror and give myself affirmations. I meditate, I pray. I’m just more consistent in my daily practices to help me stay grounded. Part of knowing who you are is knowing where you came from.”
We have more from the Southwest Division:
- The acquisition of Irving last season was highly controversial but Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison is happy he didn’t listen to the skeptics. Dallas retained Irving with a three-year, $126MM contract last offseason. “I’m thankful for the decision now, and I think everybody around the organization is, too,” Harrison told Marc Spears of Andscape. “But it’s awesome just to get to see him be himself. And it’s funny when if you talk to any of our teammates, they’re going to be like, ‘Yeah, it’s really weird that there was ever any negativity around Kyrie, I just don’t see it. He’s such a positive person. He’s always smiling and happy, and I don’t get it.’”
- Even though Maxi Kleber is sidelined, the Mavericks should have a favorable matchup against the top-seeded Thunder, Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News opines. They have in-season acquisition Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively to provide a physical presence around the basket against Thunder rookie big man Chet Holmgren. They also have two stars who can take over a game in Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, while Oklahoma City will be more dependent on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
- The changes the Pelicans made to their medical staff last offseason can be considered a success, according to Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. He notes that Zion Williamson played in 70 games, the most in his NBA career, while Brandon Ingram appeared in 64 games, his most since his rookie year with the Lakers in 2016/17.
- The Grizzlies added draft-and-stash prospect Tarik Biberovic with the No. 56 pick last June. He showed a lot of promise overseas this season, Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal notes. Playing for Fenerbahce in the Turkey Basketball Super League, Biberovic averaged a career-high 21.8 minutes and 10.4 points in 24 games, connecting on 40.7% of his 3-point attempts. In 25 EuroLeague games, Biberovic averaged 7.2 points and shot 56.9% on 3-pointers. All signs point to the wing playing another year overseas before potentially joining Memphis for the 2025/26 season, Cole adds.
Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert To Miss Game 2
Rudy Gobert will miss Game 2 of the Timberwolves’ series against the Nuggets, Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune tweets.
Head coach Chris Finch told the assembled media during the pregame press conference that Gobert wouldn’t make it to Denver, in part due to weather conditions. Numerous flights to Denver have been delayed today due to windy conditions, Bennett Durando of the Denver Post tweets.
Gobert left the team after Game 1 due to the birth of his first child and was listed as questionable to play earlier in the day. Gobert, the favorite to win the Defensive Player of the Year award on Tuesday, had six points, 13 rebounds, three assists and three blocks in Game 1.
Without Gobert, the Timberwolves will have to lean on Naz Reid to match up with Nikola Jokic. Reid had 16 points off the bench in Game 1.
Sixers’ Morey Vows To Shake Up Roster In “Big” Offseason
Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey confirmed during a Monday press conference that he’ll be busy reworking his roster this summer, Dan Gelston of The Associated Press reports.
“We’re not going to have continuity,” Morey said. “We’ll have continuity with our stars and our head coach but we’re going to have a lot of changes this season.”
Morey feels the heat to build a championship roster around his two stars.
“This offseason’s a big one,” Morey said. “I owe it to the fans, to ownership, to everybody, to get this team in a place where we’re competing for championships. We obviously didn’t achieve it this year.”
Joel Embiid is the only two player with a guaranteed contract beyond this season. Tyrese Maxey will be a restricted free agent and is expected to sign a maximum-salary contract.
Beyond that, everything is up for grabs. Morey could have $65MM in cap space to wheel and deal, along with signing free agents. He’s not against signing an aging star, such as Paul George, if one becomes available in the free agent market.
“You have to factor in the age,” Morey said. “We feel like we’re in the window where we have to win now. We’re mostly focused on getting the best players that fit with Joel and Tyrese.”
Morey has some regrets regarding this season, namely that he didn’t have a deep enough roster. The Sixers slid down the standings when Embiid was sidelined for two months after undergoing knee surgery. He wasn’t close to 100% in the postseason when Philadelphia lost to New York in the opening round.
“It can’t be a big focus, how we play without him. We know that team can’t win a championship,” Morey said. “It’s really, how do we manage through it better? I felt like, on me, the depth wasn’t quite there when he was out to win at the level we wanted to win at.”
Here are some other notable tidbits from Morey’s press conference:
- His top priority is to find a wing “who can play and deliver at a high level in the playoffs,” Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic tweets.
- Coach Nick Nurse will be retained. Reserves Paul Reed and Ricky Council IV are also expected to be back, even though their salaries are not guaranteed, Vorkunov adds.
- Though he hasn’t ruled out re-signing Buddy Hield, who was acquired from Indiana at the trade deadline, Morey admitted that “the fit was less good than I thought,” per Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports (Twitter link). Hield played sparingly in the first round until Game 6, when he scored 20 points in 21 minutes.
- Maxey’s performances during the regular season and playoffs proved to Morey that he can be the second-best player on a title team, Vorkunov relays in another tweet. “That belief went from high to we’re certain at this point that he can do that,” he said.
Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama Named Rookie Of Year
Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama has unanimously been named the league’s Rookie of the Year, the NBA announced today (via Twitter).
The top pick of the 2023 draft lived up to his billing, averaging 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, a league-high 3.6 blocks and 1.2 steals in 71 games. Wembanyama received all 99 first-place votes for 495 points (Twitter link).
Wembanyama is the first player to have at least 1,500 points, 700 rebounds, 250 assists, 250 blocks and 100 3-pointers made in a season. He is the second rookie to lead all NBA players in blocks per game in a season, joining Manute Bol (1985/86).
Chet Holmgren, who boosted the Thunder to the top seed in the Western Conference, finished second in the voting with Hornets forward Brandon Miller winding up a distant third. Holmgren received all but one of the second-place votes with Miller getting the other. Miller was picked third on 83 ballots.
The Heat’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. finished fourth in the voting and the Warriors’ Brandin Podziemski wound up fifth.
Holmgren, the No. 2 pick of the 2022 draft who missed last season due to a foot injury, appeared in all 82 games. He averaged 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.3 blocks during the regular season.
Miller, the No. 2 pick in last year’s draft, averaged 17.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 74 games, including 68 starts.