Central Notes: Caruso, COVID-19, Bridges, Joseph, McGruder
Guard Alex Caruso played 33 minutes in the Bulls’ Game 1 loss to the Bucks on Sunday. Coach Billy Donovan said Caruso has been dealing with back pain for several weeks and is trying to tough it out, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times writes. He was limited to seven points and missed all but one of his five 3-point attempts.
‘‘He’s felt the best I think he has felt,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘Is he 100%? No, but he’s a lot better than he was those games before he sat out. I do think with Alex [that minutes restrictions are] going to be somewhat important. I think if you start pushing him with his back up into the high 30s, I don’t think that would be really, really wise. You want to see how he’s feeling in the game. He kind of throws his body in there and plays incredibly hard and physical, so we’ll have to see how he responds.”
We have more from the Central Division:
- The Bucks are wary of how a positive COVID-19 test could affect their playoff run, coach Mike Budenholzer told Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He noted how Paul George missed the Clippers’ second play-in game after testing positive. “There’s been a lot of positive movement. You just don’t want to forget, you’ve just got to know it’s still out there,” Budenholzer said. “When we had the conversation what happened with the Clippers and Paul George had happened and the coaching staff with Chicago. I’m guessing those things pop up in conversations in the locker room or at baskets and things like that. It’s not good, but in the sense of it just being a reminder in conversation, I think it’s helpful. Certainly our guys are aware.”
- The Pistons could have the most cap space in the league this summer but a giant offer sheet for Hornets restricted free agent Miles Bridges wouldn’t be a wise move, James Edwards III of The Athletic opines. Bridges’ best position is probably at power forward and putting him in that spot wouldn’t be a long-term upgrade over Saddiq Bey, who can play either forward spot. If Detroit winds up with a top-three pick, the team will likely draft a power forward, which would force Bridges to play small forward with Bey moving out of position to shooting guard. The only way adding Bridges would make sense would be to trade Jerami Grant for a wing or to draft one with their lottery pick, Edwards writes.
- Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press predicts that Grant, Cory Joseph and Rodney McGruder won’t return next season but that the Pistons will re-sign restricted free agent Marvin Bagley III.
Thunder Notes: Dort, Bazley, Giddey, Salary Cap, Draft
The Thunder are interested in reaching contract extension agreements with Luguentz Dort and Darius Bazley but only if the price is right, GM Sam Presti told The Oklahoman’s Joe Mussatto and other media members on Monday.
“They’re both great guys,” Presti said. “I want to hear what they’re thinking, and I need them to understand we have to also balance the interest of the team as well.”
Presti indicated extension talks with Dort haven’t begun, Mussatto tweets.
“We’ll definitely have a conversation on that,” Presti said. “I don’t know when those conversations will pick up. We’ll have some different options. I don’t want to get into all of them.”
Here are some other highlights from Presti’s annual end-of-season press conference, via Mussatto:
- Dort (shoulder), Bazley (knee) and Josh Giddey (hip), among others, didn’t finish the season due to injuries but Presti expects everyone on the roster to be ready for training camp.
- The Thunder will play in two summer leagues, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. Giddey and Aleksej Pokusevski will play in Salt Lake City.
- The Thunder have only $54MM on the books for the 2023/24 season and will continue efforts to keep their salary sheet clean leading up to a new CBA in the summer of 2023.
- If they’re not playing meaningful games as next season progresses, the Thunder plan to once again go into development mode as the season winds down. “We’re not just trying to figure out how to win two more games next year,” Presti said. “We could do that, but that solution doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best long-term solution for the team.”
- There’s a slim chance the Thunder could hold onto all four picks it currently possesses in the draft. “One thing I don’t think has been explored enough in the NBA is just drafting everybody and then figuring it out,” Presti said.
Marcus Smart Named Defensive Player Of The Year
Celtics guard Marcus Smart has been named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, the league announced today in a press release.
Smart is the first guard to earn the honor since Gary Payton in the 1995/96 season. He’s also the second Celtic to win the award, joining Kevin Garnett (2007/08).
The 100 votes among sportswriters and broadcasters were spread out, reflecting that there was no clear-cut favorite for the award this season. Smart’s candidacy was aided by Boston’s strong finish and status as the league’s top-rated defensive unit. The team allowed the fewest points per game and lowest field-goal percentage.
Smart received 257 points overall and 37 first-place votes. Suns forward Mikal Bridges finished in second place with 202 points (22 first-place votes), while Jazz center and three-time DPOY Rudy Gobert was in third place with 136 points (12 first-place votes).
Overall, seven players received at least one first-place vote, including Bam Adebayo (13), Jaren Jackson Jr. (10), Giannis Antetokounmpo (5), and Robert Williams III (1). Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, Draymond Green, and Matisse Thybulle also earned votes.
The full results can be viewed here.
Smart ranked seventh in the NBA in steals per game (1.68) and tied for sixth in total steals (119). Smart, who signed a four-year, $77MM contract last offseason, ranked among the league leaders in several “hustle” categories, finishing tied for fourth in loose balls recovered (75) and tied for 10th in both deflections (206) and charges drawn (16).
Duke’s Mark Williams Declares For Draft
Duke big man Mark Williams has declared for the draft, making the announcement on his Instagram page.
The seven-foot sophomore started all 39 games for the Blue Devils this past season, averaging 11.2 PPG, 7.4 RPG and 2.8 BPG in 23.6 MPG. He was named the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year.
He’s currently listed No. 18 on ESPN’s Best Available prospects list and second among projected centers behind only Memphis’ Jalen Duren, who also declared on Monday. According to ESPN’s analysis posted in mid-March, Williams is “one of the best shot-blockers in this draft class and brings a consistent presence as a vertical spacer and an offensive rebounder for Duke, finishing 71% of his field goal attempts, with nearly half of those makes coming on dunks.”
Williams is a traditional post player — he only attempted one 3-pointer in his two seasons at Duke. He had a 28-point, 12-rebound, 3-block performance against Syracuse late in the regular season. He posted 12 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks against Arkansas in the West Region Elite 8 contest.
Enes Freedom Interested In Playing In Greece
If Enes Freedom can’t hook on with another NBA team, he wants to play in Greece, Sportando relays.
Freedom would be interested in signing with Panathinaikos, partially for political reasons, he told Greek publications Ethnikos Kirikas.
“My first goal is to play in the NBA and I want to be there,” he said. “However, if this does not happen, I have grown up watching Panathinaikos, Olympiacos, and other teams, but first of all, I would like to meet with the Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis. I would like to shake his hand and thank him for accepting the Turkish refugees. This is an important step of the friendship between Greece and Turkey.
“Then, I would like to talk to him about the possibility to come to a team like Panathinaikos and build a friendship between the two countries. If I play in a Greek team, it will not be just for basketball. I want to build a bridge between these people,” Freedom added. “We are not so far away: we eat the same food, while our cultures are very similar. Panathinaikos is the first choice in Europe. Let’s not forget that my friend Mario Hezonja played there as well.”
Freedom became a free agent shortly after he was traded from Boston to Houston on February 10. He was officially waived by the Rockets four days later and later asserted his outspoken views on China contributed to the lack of interest from other NBA teams.
He appeared in 35 games with Boston this season after seeing action in 72 games with Portland last season.
Bam Adebayo Exits Protocols, Available For Playoff Opener
Heat center Bam Adebayo has officially exited the league’s health and safety protocols and is expected to be available against the Hawks in Miami’s playoff opener on Sunday, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald tweets.
Adebayo entered the COVID-19 protocols on April 10 and coach Erik Spoelstra indicated on Friday that he expected his starting center to clear them this weekend.
This is obviously a major development in the series, particularly since the Hawks could be without center Clint Capela, who suffered a knee injury during the play-in victory over Cleveland on Friday. Adebayo averaged 22.5 PPG, 6.o RPG and 4.5 APG in two games against Atlanta this season.
For the season, Adebayo averaged a career-best 19.1 PPG, 10.1 RPG and 3.4 APG in 56 games. He hasn’t played since April 8, when Miami defeated Atlanta by four points.
Simmons To Ramp Up Activity, Could Play In First Round
Ben Simmons could make his season debut during the latter stages of the Nets’ series against the Celtics, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.
After running and shooting pain-free for over a week, Simmons will now scrimmage against teammates in practices. His workouts up until now have been limited to 1-on-0 situations (Twitter links).
The possibility of Simmons taking the court adds even more intrigue into what will likely be the most-watched first round series. ESPN and The Athletic reported on Friday that Simmons was aiming for a return somewhere in the Game 4 to Game 6 range of the series. Game 4 is scheduled for April 25, with the remaining games (if necessary) to be played every other night afterward.
According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (Twitter link), there’s growing optimism that Simmons could suit up as early as Game 3, which will take place next Saturday, April 23 when the Nets return to Brooklyn.
However, Kevin Durant said on Thursday he’s “not expecting” Simmons to play in the series, stressing that he doesn’t want to place any pressure on the three-time All-Star. Simmons has been rehabbing from a back injury, which has delayed his Nets debut.
Community Shootaround: First Round Of Playoffs
With the play-in tournament in the rearview mirror, the NBA playoffs officially begin on Saturday. There are a lot of intriguing first-round matchups and we could see quite of few of them reach the seven-game limit.
Let’s take a quick look at all eight series:
Eastern Conference
- No. 1 Heat vs. No. 8 Hawks — Miami’s defense will be tested by the brilliance of Trae Young, whose second-half performance against Cleveland on Friday carried his team into the postseason. Both centers — Bam Adebayo (protocols), Clint Capela (knee) — are question marks heading into the series.
- No. 2 Celtics vs. No. 7 Nets — The Celtics were the best team in the East during the second half of the season but the knee injury to Robert Williams makes them more vulnerable. It’s a matchup of high-scoring duos — Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown vs. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving — making this must-see TV.
- No. 3 Bucks vs. No. 6 Bulls — Chicago won’t have Lonzo Ball but it still has a formidable trio in DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic. Of course, the defending champs have their own Big 3 in Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday.
- No. 4 Sixers vs. No. 5 Raptors — Joel Embiid won the scoring title and Philadelphia acquired James Harden to make a deep run. The Raptors were much sharper than the Sixers down the stretch behind Pascal Siakam and rookie Scottie Barnes.
Western Conference
- No. 1 Suns vs. No. 8 Pelicans — Phoenix deserves to be the favorite to come out of the West again after cruising to the league’s best record. New Orleans is happy to get here after a woeful start and going without Zion Williamson all season. Can CJ McCollum match Devin Booker in the scoring column?
- No. 2 Grizzlies vs. No. 7 Timberwolves — Ja Morant says he’s ready to go after a late-season injury scare. Vastly-improved Memphis has a strong supporting cast around Morant but have to neutralize the high-scoring trio of Karl-Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards.
- No. 3 Warriors vs. No. 6 Nuggets — Stephen Curry is expected to return from his foot injury just in time for Golden State’s postseason run. The Warriors don’t have a true center to guard superstar Nikola Jokic, so they’ll throw all kinds of looks at him.
- No. 4 Mavericks vs. No. 5 Jazz — Luka Doncic‘s calf strain changes the whole dynamic of this series. Can Dallas hang in there with its franchise player either sidelined or less than 100 percent? Utah stumbled down the stretch but it’s healthier than last postseason and Donovan Mitchell will undoubtedly ramp up his production.
That brings us to our question of the day: Who are your picks to win all the first-round playoff series?
Please take to the comments section to make your selections. We look forward to your input.
Clippers Notes: Leonard, George, Covington, Batum, Hartenstein, Outlook
The Clippers were a much more optimistic bunch than most teams after getting eliminated from playoff contention, Jim Alexander of the Orange County Register writes. That’s due to the return of perennial All-Star Kawhi Leonard from his knee injury, plus the expectation that Paul George will have better injury luck next season.
In addition to being out for most of the season due to an elbow injury, George missed Friday’s play-in tournament loss to New Orleans after testing positive for COVID-19.
“We get our main guys back. I mean, we can be dangerous,” coach Tyronn Lue said. “I think when you get Kawhi and PG back healthy, Norm (Powell for) a full season … this team can be pretty special. But it’s all about health. Our young guys (Terance Mann, Amir Coffey, (Luke) Kennard, Ivica Zubac), all those guys have (had) a chance to develop and play meaningful games. They played big for us. Our veteran guys, we already talked about what Marcus (Morris), Nico (Batum), Reggie (Jackson) have brought to this team. We got to get back, get back to the drawing board. But I’m very excited for this group, the guys coming back.”
We have more on the Clippers:
- Robert Covington will be an unrestricted free agent this summer but the prospect of playing with Leonard and George is enticing to him, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times tweets. “The way that we played tonight when we went small, imagine PG and Kawhi in that lineup,’ he said. “That’s a lot of versatility … Once them guys come back next year, if I’m here, I’m really looking forward to that.”
- By trading for Covington, the Clippers also acquired his Bird rights, which will allow them to exceed the salary cap and luxury tux to retain him, ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes in his guide to the team’s offseason. They don’t have a first-rounder due to the George trade but they will have two trade exceptions of $9.7MM and $8.3MM, plus the taxpayer mid-level exception of $6.3MM, to make roster upgrades.
- Another potential decision is whether to re-sign Batum if he declines his $3.3MM option, Yossi Gozlan of Hoops Hype notes in his offseason preview. They hold Non-Bird rights on another unrestricted free agent, Isaiah Hartenstein. Gozlan also breaks down the remaining salary due to each player on the roster.
- After blowing two chances to make the playoffs, the Clippers are in typical wait-til-next-year mode, Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times opines. Despite the rosy outlook, the Clippers can’t guarantee that Leonard will regain his pre-injury form, that the chemistry will be the same or that someone else won’t get hurt.
Northwest Notes: Towns, McLaughlin, Dort, Gilgeous-Alexander
The Timberwolves overcame a foul-plagued outing by Karl-Anthony Towns to beat the Clippers in the play-in tournament. Towns says he’ll be just fine as the team prepares for its first-round series with the Grizzlies, Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes. “I’m not tripping at all. In a good space,” Towns said. “Just good to get past the last two days and I’m ready to go.”
Towns says he’ll play smarter against Memphis. “I got a more clear role for what they want me to do in the playoffs,” he said. “So I’m very confident, feel very good.”
We have more from the Northwest Division:
- Timberwolves reserve guard Jordan McLaughlin never left the bench in the play-in game but he’ll have a role against the Grizzlies, coach Chris Finch told Hine in a separate story. McLaughlin will take any minutes he can get. “I’m a team player, so when my number is called, I’m going to be ready to go and do whatever I can to help my team win,” McLaughlin said. “If it’s not called, I’m still going to help my team win, cheering on the bench, talking to guys, telling them what I see and stuff like that. It’s never about me.”
- Thunder guard Luguentz Dort anticipates he’ll be fully recovered from shoulder surgery by training camp, according to Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. Dort believes he’ll be back to 100% during the next two to three months. Dort is eligible for a contract extension and could become an unrestricted free agent next summer. “I’m going to let my agent handle it,” Dort said of a possible extension.
- Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is pumped about the franchise’s future, Mussatto writes in a separate piece. He’ll enter the first year of his five-year max extension next season. “We have that trust in each other,” Gilgeous-Alexander said, referring to the front office and coaching staff. “I can’t go into details, but we’re excited for the future.”