Celtics Reserve Forward Sam Hauser Listed As Probable For Game 5
The Celtics got a small bit of good news in an otherwise dark day. Sam Hauser, a key reserve forward, is listed as probable to play in Game 5 at Boston on Wednesday, Steve Popper of Newsday tweets. Boston trails New York, 3-1, with the second-round series returning to the Celtics’ home floor.
Hauser only played four minutes in Game 1 before being sidelined with a right ankle sprain. He has missed the past three games.
Hauser was the eighth man in the rotation for much of the season and played a regular role off the bench in the first round against Orlando, averaging 14.6 minutes per game across those five contests. Hauser scored 10 points in the clinching Game 5 win.
During the regular season, he averaged 8.5 points and 3.2 rebounds in 21.7 minutes per game across 71 outings (19 starts), knocking down 41.6% of his three-pointers.
Hauser gives his team another quality option as it tries to make up for the enormous loss of star Jayson Tatum, who underwent surgery to repair a torn right Achilles tendon on Tuesday.
Community Shootaround: Draft Lottery Changes
Is it time for another change to the draft lottery?
That’s what many people are thinking after seeing the Mavericks leapfrog 10 other teams and win the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes on Monday.
If not for a wave of injuries – and of course, the controversial Luka Doncic trade – Dallas wouldn’t have even held any lottery combinations. The Mavs’ good fortune comes one year after the Hawks jumped from No. 10 to the top spot.
The current lottery format was introduced in 2019, in which the teams with the three worst records have an equal chance – 14 percent – of getting the top pick. Since that time, no team entering the lottery at No. 1 has gained the top pick, though four teams in either the second or third spot has had the winning combination.
With the lottery determining the top four slots, the team with the worst record has dropped from No. 1 to No. 5 three consecutive times – the Pistons twice and this time the Jazz. It can be argued that Utah, which overtly tanked for a good portion of the season, deserved its fate.
And that’s the issue. The current system was designed to discourage tanking, as was the creation of the play-in tournament to get more teams into the postseason. But it certainly hasn’t erased that strategy by struggling or rebuilding franchises.
There could be ways to make the lottery seem more fair. Perhaps not allowing a team to win the lottery more than once in a short span. Similarly, there could be a rule against a team moving up from its slot more than once or twice in a certain time frame. It certainly seems unfair that San Antonio has wound up with the top pick, the No. 4 pick and the No. 2 pick in three straight drafts.
The lottery could also be changed so that teams near the bottom of it can’t get the No. 1 pick. Any number of tweaks could be considered and it appears the current system could use some.
That brings us to today’s topic: How do you feel about the current lottery format? Should changes be made? If so, what should be done to make it fairer?
Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.
Southwest Notes: Spurs, Giannis, Pelicans, Grizzlies, Shorts
The Spurs got lucky in the lottery for the third straight year, landing the No. 2 pick. They’ll get to add another high-quality young player to a mix that already includes the last two Rookies of the Year.
“When you jump into the top four again, you put yourself as an organization in a place to make a really big acquisition with a really good player,” coach Mitch Johnson said, per Michael Wright and Jonathan Givony of ESPN. “And that’s what we’re going to look forward to doing.”
Johnson was referring to getting a high pick, rather than dealing it.
We have more
- The Spurs are well-positioned to make a run at Giannis Antetokounmpo, but LJ Ellis of SpursTalk.com doubts the Bucks star will wind up there. Antetokounmpo’s timeline doesn’t quite mesh with Victor Wembanyama’s timeline, Ellis notes, so San Antonio going all-in for the 30-year-old superstar seems like a premature move.
- The Pelicans dropped from No. 4 to No. 7 in the draft lottery but the franchise still has some reason for optimism, Will Guillory of The Athletic writes. Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy, Herbert Jones and Yves Missi are good building blocks and the possibility of Antetokounmpo being traded could also aid their cause. New Orleans owns the rights to the Bucks’ first-round pick swaps in 2026 and 2027 and those picks would rise in value if the Bucks deal their top player.
- While the Grizzlies have genuine interest in European star guard T.J. Shorts, he’s expected to get a much more lucrative offer if he remains overseas, according to Aris Barkas of Eurohoops.net. Memphis is willing to give him a guaranteed deal but it’s unlikely he’d get much more than the minimum. If Shorts decides to stay in Europe, he will easily get a multiyear deal with a much bigger net annual salary, Barkas adds. Given that Shorts will turn 28 in October, it would be tough for him to pass up the biggest contract of his career, but he has also said it would be a “dream” to play in the NBA.
Donovan Mitchell To Start Game 5; Merrill Out
With their season on the brink, the Cavaliers will have Donovan Mitchell in the lineup on Tuesday. Mitchell will suit up against the Pacers as top-seeded Cleveland tries to stave off elimination, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com tweets.
Mitchell had been listed as questionable on Monday due to a left ankle injury. Mitchell missed the second half of the Cavaliers’ Game 4 blowout loss to the Pacers after feeling discomfort in his left ankle while going up for a warm-up shot during halftime, as we relayed on Sunday night. Mitchell underwent an MRI on Monday.
Mitchell has carried the Cavs offensively, averaging 28.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.6 steals during their first eight playoff games. Indiana leads the series, 3-1.
However, one of the Cavs’ key reserves won’t play. Sam Merrill has been declared out due to a neck strain, according to Fedor. Merrill had a 14-point outing earlier in the series. Isaac Okoro and Max Strus could see more playing time in his absence.
Jayson Tatum Carried Off With Right Leg Injury
Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum suffered a potentially serious injury in the fourth quarter of Boston’s loss to the Knicks in Game 4 of their series on Monday night.
Tatum was carried off the court after injuring his right leg on a non-contact play, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps reports. Tatum took an awkward step near the top of the key and crumpled to the floor. He was unable to put any weight on the leg as he was helped off the court.
The exact nature of the injury is unclear, but it’s feared that it may involve his Achilles tendon and/or ankle. He’ll undergo an MRI on Tuesday.
“It’s tough to see a guy like him get carried off,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The Celtics fell behind 3-1 in the series, but veteran big man Al Horford was more concerned about his fallen teammate.
“The loss is the loss. More importantly it’s Jayson I’m worried about,” Horford said, per Weiss (Twitter link).
New York rallied for a 121-113 win despite Tatum’s efforts. He racked up 42 points, eight rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks.
Tatum’s five-year, designated veteran extension worth approximately $314MM kicks in next season.
Mavs Rejoice After Getting Top Pick
The Mavericks recently completed what CEO Rick Welts summed up as a “tumultuous” season. Dallas is now celebrating its unlikely lottery luck, moving up from No. 11 to the top pick.
“Just looking at that potential roster and thinking about what could happen next season, it’s a reversal of fortunes that’s really unimaginable,” Welts said, per Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link).
Dropping Cooper Flagg into a Mavericks lineup that includes Anthony Davis and, when he recovers from his knee injury, Kyrie Irving, gives the franchise real hope of a championship in the coming seasons. All this after the firestorm created by the controversial Luka Doncic trade with the Lakers.
“I am so happy for Mavericks fans,” Welts said, per ESPN’s Michael C. Wright and Jonathan Givony. “I only got to Dallas Jan. 1 this year. Feb. 1, we broke the internet [with the Doncic trade]. I am just amazed at the depth of emotion and connection that the fan base has with this team. And what happened today, I can’t imagine a better day for Mavs fans. It’s going to really be something special. I can’t wait to get back to Dallas.”
Welts all but declared Flagg to be the team’s choice next month.
“I don’t know who we’re going to take, but should we take him, I think his résumé is pretty strong,” Welts said of the Duke star forward. “Every time he’s put in a situation that everyone wondered if he could succeed, he’s succeeded and then some.”
The Mavs’ head coach is eager to see what the team looks like with a star like Flagg added to the mix.
“Incredible day for the Mavericks,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd told Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link). “We are all so excited.”
Flagg didn’t talk specifically about joining the Mavs but he indicated he’d fit right in with a team that has put a premium on two-way players. Doncic’s defensive issues was one of the reasons general manager Nico Harrison was willing to deal him.
“Being a two-way player is something I’ve done since I was a little kid, so I’m just going to keep doing that to the best of my ability,” he said, per Grant Afseth of the Dallas Hoops Journal.
Welts, who worked for the league from 1982-1999, knows all about conspiracy theories involving the lottery. He heard quite a bit about that during the 1985 lottery, won by the Knicks.
“I’m the only person who was in this room and the room 40 years ago. I was in charge of the NBA draft lottery 40 years ago when Patrick Ewing won,” Welts said. “I’ve been doing conspiracy theory stories ever since. This is very surreal, personally.”
Thunder Notes: Bench, Dort, Murray, Closing Out, Lottery
The Thunder‘s deep bench shined through in Game 4 on Sunday as they tied the series with the Nuggets with a 92-87 victory. Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins had 11 points apiece and Alex Caruso supplied 10. The five reserves that coach Mark Daigneault utilized also combined for 16 rebounds, six assists and three steals.
Denver used three subs and only one — Russell Westbrook — played extended minutes. He shot 2-for-12 from the field.
“It’s never, like, ‘I wonder what we should do now,’” Daigneault said, per Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman. “It’s always frameworks that we work through during the seasons. We have a pretty good understanding of frameworks of lineups, frameworks of rotations, different levers we can pull. We’re not just throwing stuff against the wall in the highest stakes games.”
We have more on the Thunder:
- Luguentz Dort had a rough outing, shooting 2-for-10 from the field, all beyond the three-point arc. He didn’t play in the fourth quarter. Dort has struggled with his shooting in road playoff games, Lorenzi notes, but the head coach isn’t fretting. “I definitely trust the body of work over time more than small sample sizes,” Daigneault said. “If the question is whether or not I’m confident in his three-point shooting, I am. He’s the last guy I’m worried about. We also have a deep team.”
- Dort, of course, is more noted for his defensive work. The Nuggets have tried to use hard screens to dislodge him from guard Jamal Murray. “It’s been like that all year; it’s not just Denver,” Dort told The Athletic’s Kelly Iko. “I know I’m a good defender and disturb a lot of (opposing teams’) main guys. Whenever I’m off their main guy’s body, it’s good for them.”
- The Thunder lost by two points in the series opener and overtime in Game 3. Pulling out a five-point win in Game 4 shows that they’re getting better at closing out tight contests in the postseason. “Every time you take punches and you get back up, you get stronger,” Daigneault said, according to ESPN News Services. “That’s what we’re preaching to our team. We lost a tough one the other night in overtime. We stood back up (Sunday).”
- Thanks to Philadelphia’s lottery luck, moving up to the top three, the Thunder won’t have a lottery pick. The first-rounder the Sixers owe them will be top-four protected next year.
Southwest Notes: Williamson, Mavs, Whitmore, Sheppard, Spurs
It may not seem like a big deal but the fact that Zion Williamson represented the Pelicans at the draft lottery may have important implications, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack post.
That’s not the sort of role you ask a star player to take on if you’re looking to trade him, Stein notes. There has been been plenty of speculation regarding Williamson’s status within the organization, particularly after ownership overhauled the front office and put Joe Dumars in the lead executive role.
The Pelicans wound up dropping to the No. 7 pick in the draft following the lottery results.
We have more from the Southwest Division:
- With Kyrie Irving on the mend, the Mavericks will likely need two point guards to stabilize that position for next season, according to Yossi Gozlan of ThirdApron.com (Substack link). One of those players will likely have to be acquired via trade. Of course, their lottery luck alters their outlook dramatically. As Gozlan tweets, they’ll now have a loaded cap sheet but they’ll be active this summer. Gozlan held an in-depth discussion with Dallas beat writer Grant Afseth that was posted on YouTube.
- It’s fair to wonder where Cam Whitmore and Reed Sheppard stand in terms of the Rockets’ long-term plans, considering their spotty playing time this season. Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle points out that Whitmore, the No. 20 overall pick in 2023, played in 51 games but averaged fewer minutes per night in his second season (16.2) than he did as a rookie (18.7). Sheppard, last year’s No. 3 overall pick, appeared in 52 games and averaged 12.6 MPG.
- The Spurs hold the second and 14th picks in the aftermath of the draft lottery. LJ Ellis of SpursTalk.com reveals his first big board of picks 1-14 for the team, which includes some surprises.
Knicks Notes: Stagnant Offense, Robinson, Starting Five
The Knicks know they have to create more havoc on defense to energize their offense, Jared Schwartz of the New York Post writes. Their halfcourt offense has frequently bogged down, although they’ve managed to take a 2-1 lead in the series against the Celtics. Game 4 will be held tonight.
“When you’re not causing turnovers and you’re getting the ball under the rim, taking it out every possession, it’s tough to have that speed,” forward Josh Hart said. “So we have to try to cause more turnovers, play better defense and finish possessions with rebounds and run, and even when we do take the ball out, have pace to our offense and not just be standing around being so stagnant.”
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau had a similar viewpoint.
“I think for anybody, live-ball turnovers that put you into the open floor, get you easy baskets,” he said. “So that’s a big part of the game, and that’s the fight. I think it’s the challenge for each team to try to create as many as you can, because you know what it does for your offense. It fuels your offense.”
We have more on the Knicks:
- Fans exasperated by Mitchell Robinson‘s free throw shooting futility got a response from the Knicks center and it’s probably not what they want to hear. Robinson posted on his Instagram Live account (hat tip to Erich Richter of the New York Post) on Sunday that he’s not interested in the fans’ opinions. “So, I know y’all commenting and doing all the stupid stuff, thinking that I really care,” he said. “I really don’t. Y’all know what I care about: this (pointing to his truck), playing basketball, and my daughter. All the other stuff, I really don’t care for. … Y’all should know me by now. Been here seven years. … Anyway, Happy Mother’s Day. Y’all enjoy yourselves.” Robinson is shooting just 28.9 percent from the free throw line during the playoffs, leading opponents to intentionally foul him during certain stretches of games.
- The Knicks have won two games despite their starting five — Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns — being outscored by 29 points through the first three games, Schwartz said. “I think a big part of that is how we’re starting games and starting the second half,” Hart said. “We haven’t done a good job imposing our will into the game from the jump. That’s something that we struggled with in Detroit also, coming out of the half. There were times we had a 10-, 12-point lead and then we surrendered it in the first three, four minutes of the half. That unit, we have to come out with more sense of urgency, more desperation, more competitiveness and let everything else fall into place.”
- Thibodeau played it coy during his pregame press conference on Monday regarding a lineup change. When asked if he might insert Robinson, the coach replied, “There’s a lot of thoughts you put into it,” James Edwards of The Athletic tweets. Asked if he would stick with his usual starting five, the coach said, “We could be.”
Rockets, VanVleet Push Back Team Option Deadline
May 7: As expected, the Rockets and VanVleet have agreed to move back the decision deadline for his team option, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). The new decision date for Houston will be the league-wide deadline, June 29.
May 6: The Rockets are looking to buy more time to decide what to do with Fred VanVleet‘s contract. They hold a $44.89MM club option on VanVleet’s contract for next season and a decision is currently due on Friday, Spotrac contributor Keith Smith tweets.
According to NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer (Twitter link), Houston’s management is currently in discussions with VanVleet’s representatives to delay that decision until the end of June, just prior to free agency.
The default league-wide deadline for option decisions is June 29, but a player and team can set an earlier deadline by including that language in their contract agreement. That was the case with VanVleet’s deal, which calls for a decision five days after Houston’s season ends.
Amending the deadline would give the Rockets more time to weigh their options and perhaps increase VanVleet’s chances of receiving that $44.9MM salary next season, assuming the team would otherwise decline the option this Friday.
Following the Rockets’ elimination from the playoffs on Sunday, VanVleet and the Rockets expressed mutual interest in continuing their relationship.
“Obviously, I put my heart and soul into this and this is where I want to be,” VanVleet said. “It’s definitely a family situation. I’ve got a lot of love for our coaching staff and (general manager) Rafael (Stone) and the Fertitta family and just what we set out to do when I had my free agent meeting two years ago and we’re on that track. It was never a short-term vision — it was a long-term goal. We’re on track, we’re on schedule.”
However, VanVleet’s salary number is a huge hit on the books for a team looking to improve the roster after getting bounced in the opening round of the Western Conference playoffs by Golden State. The Rockets could decline the option, then negotiate a multiyear deal at a lesser salary. If Houston declines the option, VanVleet would be an unrestricted free agent but the Rockets would hold his Early Bird rights.
Alternatively, if the Rockets decide they’re comfortable with that $44.9MM cap charge next season, they could also exercise the option and explore a more team-friendly extension that begins in ’26/27.