Pistons Guard Reggie Jackson Out For Extended Period
Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson suffered a Grade 3 right ankle sprain against the Pacers on Tuesday and will be sidelined until after the All-Star break, the team announced on Wednesday. Jackson underwent an MRI on Wednesday, which revealed the extent of the injury. He will be re-evaluated in six to eight weeks, according to the press release.
Coach Stan Van Gundy said during his postgame press conference that X-rays were negative. However, Jackson was in severe pain when the injury occurred and couldn’t put any pressure on the leg.
Jackson had eight points and a season-high 13 assists prior to the injury. He missed the first 21 games last season with a knee injury but the club got off to an 11-10 start with Ish Smith running the offense. Smith will move into the lineup as long as Jackson is out. “Ish did a great job of taking over when Reggie went down last year, so we won’t miss a beat,” center Andre Drummond said after the game.
Langston Galloway or Dwight Buycks, who is on a two-way contract, will back up Smith while Jackson mends. Galloway, who inked a three-year, $21MM free agent contract during the summer, has played almost exclusively at shooting guard this season. Buycks appeared in his first NBA game on Tuesday since playing six games with the Lakers during the 2014/15 season.
Another option, as Keith Langlois of Pistons.com tweets, is to sign a player to a 10-day contract. Teams can add a player via a 10-day deal beginning on January 5th and Detroit has an open roster spot.
In the short run, the Pistons are without both starting guards. Shooting guard Avery Bradley has missed the last five games with a groin injury but he is progressing. The team is hopeful he can return next week, as Langlois tweets.
Southwest Notes: Capela, Leonard, Weber, Simmons
Rockets center Clint Capela has a right orbital fracture and will miss at least the next two games, the team tweets. Capela will be re-evaulated later this week, the tweet adds. Capela suffered the injury during the third quarter of the Rockets’ loss to the Thunder on Christmas Day. He had missed three of the previous four games with a heel injury. Capela, who is averaging 14.2 PPG and 11.2 RPG, will miss Thursday’s matchup against the Celtics and Friday’s game against the Wizards.
In other developments around the Southwest Division:
- Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard admits he’s still not 100% as he works his way back from a quad injury but the team appears ready to go on a run, according to Michael C. Wright of ESPN. Leonard played 26 minutes in San Antonio’s victory over the Nets on Tuesday. “I don’t feel like I’m there yet,” Leonard told Wright and other reporters. “But I tried to do what I can. It’s really nothing tonight. Just the whole process of going through playing limited minutes, and just seeing how I feel each game.” With Leonard and Tony Parker back from long-term injuries, the Spurs finally have their full roster together. “It’s a good time to get everybody playing, everybody feeling good, get Kawhi and Tony back to their usual selves, back to their rhythm and feeling good,” guard Manu Ginobili told Wright.
- Briante Weber has played meaningful minutes as a backup point guard with Rockets starter Chris Paul on the mend, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle relays. Paul could return as early as Thursday from an adductor strain. Weber, who is on a two-way contract, played a total of 34 minutes over the last two games, though he only contributed two points and three assists. “It’s a learning process, just trying to figure out what to do to play my game and not take away from what the team has,” Weber told Feigen.
- Rookie guard Kobi Simmons, another player on a two-way deal, has given the Grizzlies a boost of energy, Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal notes. Simmons has played a total of 51 minutes over the last two games, supplying 12 points, nine rebounds and five assists. “He brings a spark,” interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff told Tillery. “He’s got a natural talent that we’ve got to do a great job of developing. He can help us.”
Northwest Notes: Mitchell, Allen, Butler, Gibson
Jazz rookie guard Donovan Mitchell intended to return to Louisville for his junior season when tested the draft waters, Tim MacMahon of ESPN reports. Mitchell paid his expenses to the Creative Artists Agency pre-draft camp because he wanted to see what improvements he needed in his game before returning to college, MacMahon continues. Chris Paul and Paul George convinced Mitchell during the camp that he was good enough to be a first-round selection. The Jazz targeted him after an interview during the Chicago pre-draft camp and traded into the lottery to snag him, MacMahon adds.
In other news involving the Northwest Division:
- Nuggets coach Michael Malone downplays the feeling that the franchise made a mistake dealing Mitchell, the No. 13 pick, to the Jazz, Eric Woodyard of the Deseret News tweets. “The only thing I can say is obviously we got (forward) Trey Lyles in that deal and Trey Lyles has been great for us,“ Malone told Woodyard. Mitchell doesn’t hold any grudges against Denver for trading him, Kyle Goon of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets.
- Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen is the biggest reason why the franchise is wallowing in mediocrity, John Canzano of The Oregonian opines. Allen’s hands-on approach has been a failure, which has led to numerous GM and coaching changes, Canzano continues. The best way for the franchise to move forward is for Allen to let his basketball staff and coaches do their jobs without his constant meddling, Canzano adds.
- The acquisitions of Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson have transformed the Timberwolves, as coach Tom Thibodeau told Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune and other reporters. “Just the toughness,” Thibodeau said. “You’re talking about two elite defenders and knowing how important defense is and making the right plays offensively. … You can ask (Butler) to guard any player on the floor and he does it. They don’t take any possessions off and they understand how hard you have to play on every possession. With young guys, sometimes they don’t understand that. You can’t take plays off and you can’t pick and choose when you’re going to play defense.”
Southwest Rumors: Tanking, Pelicans, Ferrell, Rockets
The Grizzlies dismiss the notion of tanking to improve their chances of moving up the lottery, Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff told Tillery the team still believes it can make the playoffs, despite its 10-23 record. “In our mind, there is no tanking,” he said. “We’re competitive. We just need to find a way to get over that hump. We’ve continued to take steps.” Center Marc Gasol has no interest in playing for a team that intentionally waves the white flag, Tillery adds. “My job is not allowing that to happen,” Gasol said. “My job is not allowing anyone to throw away the season. Because at 32, 33 next month, I don’t have a season to throw away.”
In other news around the Southwest Division:
- The Pelicans are hovering around the .500 mark and need to take advantage of a soft spot in their upcoming schedule, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders examines. They face the Nets, Mavericks and Knicks before the New Year, which could help them make a move in the standings. If New Orleans continues to wallow in mediocrity, trade chatter will increase with DeMarcus Cousins heading to free agency this summer, Kyler notes. The lack of a bona fide leader, plus a penchant for turnovers, are two of the major issues confronting a team that should be better than its current record, Kyler adds.
- Mavericks combo guard Yogi Ferrell has boosted his 3-point shooting average to 40.2% during a recent seven-game hot streak, which doesn’t come as a surprise to head coach Rick Carlisle. One of the reasons Dallas signed Ferrell last season was his superior shooting mechanics, as Carlisle told Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. “I feel good anytime any of our shooters have a good look at a three,” he said. “But when Yogi has the space and the pass is on time and on target, he does a great job of stepping into it.”
- Rockets GM Daryl Morey recently said in a radio interview that the club is obsessed with beating the Warriors and Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders opines that it’s not wise to take that approach. Hamilton explains that the Rockets can’t afford to look past or show a lack of respect to the Spurs, who are always dangerous during the postseason.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/25/17
Here are the G-League transactions from around the NBA today:
- The Hornets assigned rookie forward Dwayne Bacon and guard Malik Monk to their affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, the team announced in a press release. It’s first assignment for both players. Bacon has appeared in 28 games, averaging 3.6 PPG and 3.1 RPG in 15.9 MPG. Monk has seen action in 29 games, averaging 5.9 PPG and 1.5 APG in 14.5 MPG. Monk, the No. 11 selection in the draft, had two 20-plus point games in early November but has seen his playing time diminish this month.
- The Trail Blazers are expected to assign rookie power forward Caleb Swanigan to the Canton Charge on Tuesday, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The Blazers do not have their own affiliate. Swanigan has only played a total of 10 minutes over the past 18 games.
Celtics Planned To Use Hayward As No. 2 Playmaker
The Celtics planned to run a Warriors-style offense this season prior to Gordon Hayward‘s serious leg injury on opening night, Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated reports. The coaching staff wanted to utilize Hayward as a second ballhandler with Kyrie Irving running the attack. Many of Boston’s sets centered around Irving and Hayward playing a two-man game in the mold of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson with the Boston duo making plays off weakside screens and pindowns, Jenkins continues. Forward Al Horford would have also had a playmaking role, much like the Warriors’ Draymond Green, spacing the floor and distributing the ball to cutters. Without Hayward, Irving has been relied upon more as a scorer and Horford’s playmaking duties have been expanded, Jenkins adds.
Other nuggets from the SI piece on Hayward include:
- GM Danny Ainge sees a healthy Hayward as the missing piece to a championship team. “What do we need? A versatile 6’8” defender who can switch one through four, handle the ball, create offense for others and make shots,” Ainge told Jenkins. “That’s what we need. That’s Gordon Hayward.”
- It’s not out of the question Hayward could return this season if the Celtics make a deep playoff run. Hayward is trying to be realistic about his situation, so that he doesn’t set himself up for disappointment. “Wishing to be on the court, trying to be on the court, those are the thoughts that kept me up at night,” he told Jenkins.
- Hayward’s predicament led to deeper bond among his teammates. That helped the Celtics get off to a strong start without him. “I think Gordon’s injury made us closer,” guard Terry Rozier told Jenkins.
Southeast Notes: Richardson, Isaac, Graham, Howard
Josh Richardson has emerged as the most efficient small forward the Heat have had since LeBron James departed for the Cavaliers, according to Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel. Injuries to other wing players have given Richardson an expanded role and he’s taken full advantage, averaging 17.6 PPG this month on 54.8% overall shooting and 50.9% from long range. “This is a continuation of the end of last season, completing a good summer of development,” coach Erik Spoelstra told Winderman and other beat reporters. “He’s gaining more confidence with game minutes. I think that will only continue to get better.”
- Magic rookie forward Jonathan Isaac‘s latest right ankle injury is not as severe as the one that kept him out for 17 games, John Denton of the team’s website reports. Isaac has missed the last two games after re-injuring the ankle on Wednesday. He’s hopeful he can return as early as Tuesday’s game against Miami. “It’s completely different and just a little re-aggravation,” Isaac told reporters. “Feeling OK and it’s the same thing – day to day – and hopefully I’ll get back soon.”
- Hornets shooting guard Treveon Graham played a strong 28 minutes off the bench on Saturday and could see steadier playing time, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer writes. Graham scored 14 points as the club rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat the Bucks. Graham needs to be productive to stay on the roster. His $1.3MM contract doesn’t become fully guaranteed unless he’s still on the roster through January 10th.
- The Hornets were fearful that center Dwight Howard would be out an extended period after suffering a dislocated left ring finger on Friday, Brendan Marks of the Charlotte Observer relays. Instead, Howard returned to action on Saturday. “I wasn’t sure if it was going to be a month or two months based on the way it kind of looked and the way it was popping out or whatever,” acting coach Stephen Silas told Marks.
Eastern Rumors: Embiid, Stauskas, Tatum, Bulls
Sixers center Joel Embiid feels personal responsibility that former executive Sam Hinkie lost his job, as he expressed to NBA.com’s David Aldridge during a wide-ranging interview. Embiid believes Hinkie would still be running the Sixers if not for the foot injuries that kept Embiid out of action for two seasons after Hinkie drafted him. “He made sure he put everything in place so I could get healthy. And I got healthy and I got back on the court,” Embiid said. “And I feel like he basically kind of lost his job because of me, because I missed two years. So I feel like I owe him a lot.”
In other news around the Eastern Conference:
- Shooting guard Nik Stauskas, who was included in the deal that sent Jahlil Okafor to the Nets, is eager for a fresh start with Brooklyn, Nets website writer Tom Dowd relays. Stauskas appeared in 80 games, including 27 starts, with the Sixers last season but only saw action in six games this season after the off-season signing of J.J. Redick. “I’m just happy with the new change of scenery,” Stauskas said. “I feel like I get a chance to press the reset button.”
- Pistons coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy revealed that he rated Celtics forward Jayson Tatum as the top player in the draft but Van Gundy is still surprised by the rookie’s 3-point shooting. Tatum, who played one season at Duke, led the league coming into Monday’s action with his 52.3% success rate from long range. “I thought he was the best prospect in the draft,” Van Gundy said Sunday in his pregame press conference. “He’s got all the tools. Anbody who says they’re not surprised by (his) three-point shooting, based on what he did in college, is lying. If there’s somebody who says I knew he’d knock down 50 percent of his threes even though he made 32 percent of them from the college line, they’re lying.”
- Center Robin Lopez, power forward Nikola Mirotic and shooting guard Justin Holiday are three Bulls players that Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times views as trade bait. All three are rotation players whose contracts expire after next season, though there’s a team option on the final year of Mirotic’s deal, worth $12.5MM.
Western Notes: Leonard, Hood, Bender, Bjelica
Kawhi Leonard‘s long-awaited season debut will likely take place on Tuesday. The Spurs All-Star forward is listed as probable for Tuesday’s road game against Dallas, ESPN’s Michael C. Wright relays. Leonard has endured a longer-than-expected recovery period from right quadriceps tendinopathy. He averaged a career-high 25.5 PPG last season and led his club to the Western Conference finals.
In other developments around the Western Conference:
- Jazz shooting guard Rodney Hood hopes to return to action Wednesday, Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets. Hood, averaging a career-best 17.7 PPG, has been sidelined seven games with a left ankle injury.
- Suns second-year power forward Dragan Bender will have to earn his way back into the regular rotation, as Scott Bordow of the Arizona Republic reports. Bender has totaled just 12 points and 11 rebounds over the last seven games while shooting 20% from the field, as his playing time has diminished. “I don’t think competition is bad especially when you’re a young player and you’re not guaranteed minutes,” coach Jay Triano said of the lottery pick. “He has to play better. … If you want to say Dragan is not playing well enough to be on the court right now, that’s fine. I want it to be competition.”
- Timberwolves power forward Nemanja Bjelica has missed the last nine games with a foot injury and it’s still uncertain when he’ll return. Coach Tom Thibodeau provided an update on his status to Minneapolis Star Tribune reporter Jerry Zgoda (Twitter link) and other media members. “We don’t want to put a timetable on it,” Thibodeau said. “We thought it would be sooner, but when he’s healthy, he’s healthy. We don’t want to go back and forth with it. He has ramped it up conditioning-wise, so that’s a good sign.”
Cavaliers Notes: Thompson, James, Wade, Korver
Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson could return to action as soon as Tuesday but he’s lost his starting job, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Joe Vardon. Thompson has missed 19 games with a strained left calf. Kevin Love was moved to center in his absence and coach Tyronn Lue wants Love to remain there. Lue also told reporters that Channing Frye would stay in the rotation, which could also cut into Thompson’s playing time, Vardon notes. Lue said that the staff needs to “figure out how we got to use him,” referring to Thompson. At least publicly, Thompson doesn’t want to make waves about his role. “If I don’t play, that’s fine,” Thompson told Vardon and other media members. “As long as we’re winning I’m going to cheer my teammates on. If I play two minutes, three minutes, 20 minutes, it don’t matter to me. As long as we win.”
In other news regarding the Cavs:
- LeBron James‘ ability to defy the aging curve has been a rare and remarkable feat, as ESPN.com’s Kevin Pelton details. His true shooting percentage of 65.8% this season is a career high, boosted by another career-best, his 3-point shooting (41.7%). That’s likely to decline as the season continues but he’s also taking more shots within three feet of the basket and converting a career-best 5.3 layups per game, Pelton continues. Additionally, he’s posting a career best in defensive block rate, something else that normally declines with age, Pelton notes. However, his overall defensive value has declined and his athleticism will also start to dip in his mid-30s, which could eventually become an issue for James, Pelton adds.
- Combo guard Dwyane Wade knew from the beginning of the season he was more suited to a sixth man role with the club, USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt writes. Wade is averaging 12.3 PPG, 4.0 APG and 3.8 RPG when he comes off the bench this season and Zillgitt points out that the Cavs have a net efficiency rating of plus-10.8 with Wade on the court as a reserve. “I knew for me to be successful and for me to come to this team and bring what I can to this team, the starting unit just wasn’t a unit for me,” he told Zillgitt. “So, I decided to go to the unit that was for me.”
- Handing shooting guard Kyle Korver a contract extension over the summer drew criticism but now seems like a wise investment, Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer opines. Korver, 36, signed a three-year, $22MM contract. He’s shooting 43.3% from long range and leads the team in plus-minus rating.