And-Ones: Evans, COVID Boosters, DPOY, Barnes, Mobley
Tyreke Evans‘ drive to return to the NBA took another twist when the G League’s Wisconsin Herd waived him on Wednesday, according to a team press release. He appeared in two games for the Bucks’ affiliate, averaging 8.0 PPG, 2.0 RPG and 2.5 APG and suffering an ankle injury in the process.
Last month, Evans was reinstated into the NBA after being suspended by the league since 2019 for violating its drug policy. Prior to joining the Herd in the middle of this month, the 32-year-old guard had not played elsewhere since his ban.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- While Kyrie Irving can now play home games, the NBA is still concerned about another COVID-19 outbreak. As part of a memo on the rollback of New York City’s vaccine mandate, the Players Association is encouraging eligible players to get booster shots ahead of the playoffs, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. The NBPA is concerned about the “possibility of new variants on the horizon.” Approximately 75% of the league’s players have already received a booster shot, the NBPA tweets.
- There’s no clear-cut choice for the Defensive Player of the Year award, according to The Athletic’s Seth Partnow, and he takes a closer look at six serious candidates for the honor. That group includes Bam Adebayo, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Rudy Gobert, Jaren Jackson Jr., Marcus Smart and Robert Williams.
- The all-around ability of the Raptors’ Scottie Barnes and the Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley has changed the narrative on this year’s Rookie of the Year award, Eric Koreen of The Athletic opines. Unlike most high lottery picks, they’ve made a major impact on teams headed to the playoffs.
Anthony Davis Could Return Before Postseason
Anthony Davis could return to action as early as the first week of April, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reports.
The Lakers star big man has been rehabbing for over a month after suffering a right foot strain on February 16. His projected timetable at that time was four-to-six weeks.
Coach Frank Vogel said Davis is “coming along really well,” sideline reporter Mike Trudell tweets.
The Lakers entered Thursday in ninth place in the Western Conference, a half-game ahead of the Pelicans. The 11th-place Spurs are only two games behind the Lakers in the loss column.
In terms of the play-in round, Vogel said “We’re hopeful those two games will be played with Anthony Davis,” Ryan Ward of Lakers Nation tweets. Of course, assuming L.A. finishes ninth or 10th in the West, the team would only play two games if it win its first one.
The Lakers, who played without LeBron James in their loss to Philadelphia on Wednesday, don’t play again until Sunday. Overall, they have nine regular-season games remaining, including five from April 3-10.
Ja Morant Out At Least Two More Weeks
6:18pm: The Grizzlies expect Morant to be ready to go for their postseason run, according to Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
“We expect him to make a full recovery before the playoffs, and we’re excited about that with two-and-a-half weeks left in the season,” Jenkins said. “We’ll offload him early, then he’ll start reloading pretty soon here with that two weeks in mind to reevaluate.”
5:49pm: Ja Morant‘s knee injury will be reevaluated in two weeks, according to Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
Morant underwent an MRI and X-ray on his sore right knee. The star point guard will miss his third consecutive game on Thursday.
With the Grizzlies wrapping up the regular season on April 10, it seems unlikely Morant will play again during the regular season. Memphis is currently in second place in the Western Conference, two games ahead of Golden State. The play-in tournament prior to the first round will buy Morant more time to recover.
Morant apparently suffered the injury on a drive late in the fourth quarter of Memphis’ loss to Atlanta last Friday.
Through 56 games, Morant is averaging 27.6 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 6.7 APG and 1.2 SPG on .493/.340/.762 shooting. The Grizzlies will have to rely on backups Tyus Jones and De’Anthony Melton until he returns.
Morant suffered a left knee sprain early this season that sidelined him for 12 games.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 3/24/2022
The transcript of our weekly Thursday live chat can be found here.
Please join us Thursday, March 31 for our next live chat at 11:00 am CT.
Isaiah Thomas Signs With Hornets For Rest Of Season
MARCH 22: The Hornets have officially signed Thomas for the rest of the season, the team announced today in a press release.
MARCH 21: Veteran guard Isaiah Thomas will sign with the Hornets for the remainder of the season, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
Charlotte signed Thomas to a pair of 10-day contracts, the second of which was set to expire after Monday’s victory over New Orleans. He’ll now receive a standard contract, likely for the prorated veteran’s minimum.
Thomas had 15 points in 14 minutes off the bench on Monday. That was Thomas’ fifth double-digit scoring outing in seven games with the Hornets.
Overall, he’s averaging 9.9 PPG for his latest team. He has also made a strong impression as a locker room voice and mentor to the team’s young guards. Charlotte has a 7-2 record since Thomas’ arrival.
The 33-year-old also played for the Lakers and Mavericks this season under the hardship exception. The Hornets have an open 15-man roster spot and won’t need to make another roster move to retain Thomas.
Paul George Shows Progress In Recovery From Elbow Injury
Paul George is progressing in his rehab and Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said he’s willing to play George, Kawhi Leonard or Norman Powell when they’re ready, even if they don’t return before the end of the regular season, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
George has not played since December 22 due to a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. He participated in a 4-on-4 practice against assistant coaches with minimal contact on Sunday.
“He’s feeling better,” Lue said. “That is part of his rehab, having minimal contact with the coaches and trying to get his wind and just kind of see how he feels. To get him on the court for the first time was really good to see, got to continue to keep working and see how he is feeling going forward.”
The Clippers, who have lost three straight, are essentially locked into the play-in tournament. They’re currently eighth in the Western Conference, 6.5 games behind the sixth- and seventh-place Timberwolves and Nuggets with nine games to play. They’re 4.5 games ahead of the ninth-place Lakers.
Leonard hasn’t played this season after undergoing knee surgery last summer. Powell, who fractured a bone in his left foot shortly after he was acquired from Portland at the trade deadline, shed his walking boot last week but hasn’t yet cleared been cleared for contact, according to Mirjam Swanson of the Orange County Register.
Lue won’t hesitate to use any of them in the playoffs.
“To hit the playoffs going at 100, from zero to 100, that is pretty tough. But if the medical guys say they are cleared and they are able to do that, that is totally up to them,” he said.
Nets’ Joe Harris Undergoes Ankle Surgery
Nets forward Joe Harris underwent left ankle ligament reconstruction surgery on Monday, according to a team press release. It’s the second time this season that Harris has undergone surgery on the ankle.
The procedure was performed by Dr. Robert Anderson in Green Bay, Wisc. Harris is expected to make a full recovery prior to next season’s training camp.
Harris appeared in just 14 games this season, averaging 11.3 PPG and 4.0 RPG in 30.2 MPG.
The team’s general manager, Sean Marks, announced early this month Harris would require season-ending surgery. The veteran sharpshooter hasn’t played since November 14 and underwent left ankle surgery later that month. The original prognosis was that Harris would miss approximately four-to-eight weeks. However, he had setbacks during the rehab process.
Harris, who re-signed with Brooklyn on a four-year, $75MM contract in November 2020, will have two years remaining on the contract and could attract attention on the trade market this offseason. The Nets had trade discussions with several teams regarding Harris prior to last month’s trade deadline.
Community Shootaround: Top Prospects In NCAA Tournament
Many of the top draft prospects got a chance to display their skills in the NCAA Tournament’s first and second rounds.
Those performances might help, or damage, their draft stock as they face top competition and defenses designed to hold them down.
Among that group were the three big men considered contenders for the No. 1 overall pick – Gonzaga Chet Holmgren, Auburn’s Jabari Smith and Duke’s Paolo Banchero. The highest-rated guard, Purdue’s Jaden Ivey (No. 4 on ESPN’s Best Available list), was also in action.
Here’s a quick breakdown how they fared:
- Holmgren – The seven-foot freshman had a huge game against overmatched Georgia State, racking up 19 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and seven blocks. He had a much quieter outing offensively against Memphis, taking only seven shots, while finishing with nine points, nine rebounds, two assists and four blocks.
- Smith – The 6’10’’ freshman had a strong performance against Jacksonville State, supplying 20 points (including four 3-pointers), 14 rebounds and four blocks. He struggled mightily with his shooting in Auburn’s second-round flameout against Miami, scoring 10 points while making just 3-of-18 field-goal attempts. He did fill up the stat sheet with 15 rebounds, four assists and three blocks.
- Banchero – Also listed at 6’10’’, Banchero had 17 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocks against Cal State-Fullerton. He followed that up with 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists in Duke’s win over Michigan State. He hit the go-ahead jumper with 2:06 left.
- Ivey – The 6’4’’ Ivey opened the tournament with a 22-point performance against Yale. He was only credited with one assist but added two steals. In the Boilermakers’ win over Texas, Ivey made a clutch 3-pointer in the late going and finished with 18 points, three rebounds and three assists.
That leads us to our question of the day: Among the four players considered the top prospects in this year’s draft, which one impressed you the most in the early rounds of the NCAA Tournament? Were there any other first-round prospects that made a strong impression on you?
Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.
Nets Notes: Simmons, Claxton, Aldridge, Durant
Nets guard Ben Simmons is dealing with a herniated disc in his back but he wants to make his season debut as soon as he can, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reports. Simmons received an epidural injection last week to relieve the soreness. He has dealt with back issues since February 2020, when he missed time due to a nerve impingement, Charania notes.
Simmons is expected to continue to work toward a return and would make his debut whenever he is fully cleared to play. However, it’s not certain that will happen this season.
We have more on the Nets:
- Nic Claxton has seen his playing time expand since LaMarcus Aldridge was sidelined earlier this month, Peter Botte of the New York Post notes. Aldridge will miss at least another week with the hip injury that has kept him out of action since March 6. Claxton has averaged 10.2 PPG, 7.4 RPG and 1.2 BPG over the last five games heading into Monday’s home game against the Jazz. Claxton will be a restricted free agent this summer if the team extends a qualifying offer.
- Kevin Durant doesn’t think the window of opportunity will close if the Nets come up short in the playoffs this season, according to Nick Friedell of ESPN. Durant, who signed a four-year, $198MM extension in August, says he expects Brooklyn to be serious contenders for years to come. “If you’re looking at it as if, like, this is our only chance to ever do something special with this group — and other people looking at it that way — then I can see why,” Durant said. “But to be honest, I signed here for five years to play. You know what I’m saying? Looking at, obviously this year’s important, but no matter what happens this year I still want to do it again. And again.”
- Andre Drummond missed Monday’s game due to a non-COVID illness, Chris Milholen of Nets Daily tweets.
Lonzo Ball To Stop Running For 10 Days
The news regarding Lonzo Ball‘s potential return from left knee surgery this season is increasingly gloomy. Ball will not run for the next 10 days. Instead, he’ll focus on strengthening the knee, Bulls coach Billy Donovan told K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link) and other media members on Monday.
Ball has been sidelined since January 14. He was expected to return in six-to-eight weeks after undergoing a procedure to repair torn meniscus in his left knee. It’s a near certainty now he won’t be back in the regular season and his postseason status is also in jeopardy due to the slow recovery.
Asked about Ball’s ability to return this season, Donovan said, “I think we’ll have a better feel of that once they get through this next 10 days,” according to NBC Sports Chicago’s Rob Schaefer (Twitter link).
Donovan indicated last week that Ball’s recovery wasn’t going smoothly.
“He has not been able to do anything full speed. And anytime we get him close to that, there’s discomfort,” the coach said.
Prior to the injury, Ball averaged 13.0 PPG, 5.4 RPG and 5.1 APG as the Bulls got off to a hot start. Ball received a four-year, $85MM contract in a sign-and-trade between Chicago and New Orleans in August.
Without him, the Bulls will continue to rely on rookie Ayo Dosunmu, Coby White and Alex Caruso at the point.