Warriors Notes: Kuminga, Green, Butler
Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga will miss his seventh consecutive game on Wednesday against the Rockets due to knee tendinitis. He told ESPN’s Anthony Slater he’ll be back in action “soon” (Twitter link).
Kuminga participated in some 3-on-3 scrimmages during Tuesday’s practice and will scrimmage on Wednesday as well. Warriors beat writer Monte Poole tweets.
Kuminga had played well prior to the injury, averaging 13.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Al Horford also won’t play on Wednesday due to a nerve issue.
We have more on the Warriors:
- Draymond Green has been upgraded to probable for Wednesday’s game, Slater tweets. Green sat out Monday’s 17-point win over the Jazz due to a foot sprain. Green holds a $27.7MM player option next offseason on the final year of his contract.
- Jimmy Butler had a highly efficient outing against Utah. He was a plus-19 in 28 minutes, scoring 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting with six rebounds and seven assists, Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area notes. Meanwhile, Lauri Markkanen — one of the players the Warriors coveted prior to last season before trading for Butler last winter — scored just 17 points on 31.6% shooting with smaller players guarding him. The game provided a reminder of why the Warriors have no regrets about taking their big trade-market swing on Butler, Johnson writes.
- In case you missed it, the Warriors now have enough room below their hard cap to sign a 15th man. However, every day they put off doing so creates a little more flexibility below that threshold.
Atlantic Notes: Queta, Ingram, George, Sixers
Celtics starting center Neemias Queta will sit out for the first time this season on Wednesday when the team faces the Eastern Conference-leading Pistons, Brian Robb of MassLive.com reports. Queta suffered a sprained left ankle in Sunday’s win over the Magic and did not practice on Tuesday.
Queta is averaging a career-high 9.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, and the Celtics are a far superior defensive team with him on the floor this year, Robb notes. Boston has allowed 25.7 fewer points per 100 possessions during his 402 minutes on the court.
Boston will have to rely on Xavier Tillman, Chris Boucher and Luka Garza at the center spot in his absence. Queta’s three-year, $7.2MM contract is only partially guaranteed for next season, but he has significantly outplayed that deal so far this season.
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- Brandon Ingram kept shooting and the Raptors kept on winning. Ingram took 30 field goal attempts while scoring 37 points in an 11-point win over Cleveland on Monday. Toronto stretched its winning streak to eight games. “He’s a player, especially when he gets going, we as a team recognize that. We need that,” coach Darko Rajaković said, per Eric Koreen of The Athletic. “It’s good for us. At the same time, we’ve got to stay inside our principles and make good decisions, play with ball movement, finding him through that style of play as well.”
- Paul George sat out Tuesday’s game against the Magic after he experienced ankle soreness, coach Nick Nurse told the media, including The Athletic’s Tony Jones (Twitter link). George had originally been listed as probable. Nurse isn’t sure if the veteran forward will miss more than one game. He has played three games this month after returning from offseason knee surgery.
- On a related topic, Jones examines whether the Sixers have enough depth to overcome injuries. He concludes they don’t have enough quality bodies to compete, relative to the East’s top teams, who have dealt with their own injury issues. “Yeah, we have to do the best that we can,” Nurse said. “We have to plug in who we can plug in, and we have to do what we need to do. We have to start who’s next in line and figure out the matchups. We have to make decisions. Some of them work and some don’t. The ones that don’t work, we have to change them. We have our discussions, and we have to try and do what’s best for the group.”
Northwest Notes: Kessler, Lillard, Wolves, Thunder
The Jazz lost Walker Kessler to a season-ending shoulder injury at the end of last month. It has greatly affected their defense, as Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune details.
Jusuf Nurkic has been thrust into the starting center role and while he’s a prolific rebounder, he’s a subpar defender. Kevin Love, 37, has been Nurkic’s primary backup and the only other option is to move true power forwards into that spot. Utah has allowed 130 or more points in six of its last nine games.
Kessler will be a restricted free agent at season’s end, so if the Jazz keep struggling mightily on defense without him available, his representatives could use that point to generate some leverage during contract negotiations.
We have more from the Northwest Division:
- The Trail Blazers defeated Milwaukee on Monday after losing seven of their previous nine games. Damian Lillard, rehabbing this season from his Achilles injury he suffered during last season’s playoffs, has been dispensing advice to his younger teammates during the rough patch, Jason Quick of The Athletic writes. “I told these dudes: this is the time when you find your true identity,” Lillard said. “It’s not when you win a couple games and everything feels good. It’s in the moments when it would be easy to walk away — like now, we have some injuries, a rough patch, a tough schedule — but this is the time when you make a decision to march forward and up.”
- The Timberwolves have collapsed in back-to-back late-game situations. After surrendering a nine-point lead with 50 seconds to play in Phoenix on Saturday, they gave away a 10-point lead in the final three minutes of regulation during a 117-112 overtime loss to the Kings on Monday. This has set off alarm bells amongst the team and its fans and The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski examines some possible causes to their crunch-time woes. “Hopefully we learn,” center Rudy Gobert said. “We still have an amazing opportunity ahead of us, but we have to decide who we want to be.”
- How good has the Thunder’s defense been this season? The Athletic’s Fred Katz (Twitter link) notes that they are allowing 7.5 fewer points per 100 possessions than the second-ranked Mavericks are. That’s the same difference as the gap between Dallas and the No. 22 ranked Bulls in that category.
Gilgeous-Alexander, Mitchell Named Players Of The Week
Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell have been named the NBA’s Players of the Week for the Western and Eastern Conference, respectively, the league announced today (Twitter links).
Gilgeous-Alexander led the defending champions to four wins during the week of November 17-23 while averaging 31.0 points and 6.5 assists per contest and shooting 60% from the field and 64.3% from beyond the arc. Oklahoma City was +82 in SGA’s 125 minutes on the court last week.
Gilgeous-Alexander also earned Player of the Week honors three weeks ago and is the second repeat winner of the award this season, joining Nuggets center Nikola Jokic.
Mitchell posted averages of 31.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game as the Cavaliers went 3-1 this past week. He opened and closed the week with matching 37-point performances against the Bucks and Clippers, going 14-of-22 from the field in each of those two outings.
Santi Aldama (Grizzlies), Luka Doncic (Lakers), De’Aaron Fox (Spurs), James Harden (Clippers) and Jokic (Nuggets) were the other Western Conference nominees for Player of the Week.
Jalen Duren (Pistons), Josh Giddey (Bulls), Brandon Ingram (Raptors), Kon Knueppel (Hornets), Tyrese Maxey (Sixers), Norman Powell and Kel’el Ware (Heat), Ryan Rollins (Bucks) and Franz Wagner (Magic) were also nominated in the East.
Wizards Rookie Tre Johnson Out Multiple Weeks Due To Hip Injury
Wizards guard Tre Johnson, the sixth pick in the June draft, will miss multiple weeks due to a strained left hip flexor, Varun Shankar of the Washington Post reports.
Head coach Brian Keefe made the announcement after practice on Monday but didn’t reveal a specific timetable beyond saying that Johnson will be reevaluated in two weeks.
It’s an injury that Johnson dealt with during his lone college season with Texas. He re-aggravated it on Friday against the Raptors and didn’t play against the Bulls on Saturday. The team’s PR departments confirms the injury in a tweet.
Johnson, 19, is averaging 11.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 24.3 minutes per game. He started in four of the team’s first 15 contests and is shooting 44.5% from the field, including 39.5% on three-point tries. He has played fewer than 20 minutes in his last three appearances.
Johnson has often been seen wearing a pad on his hip while on the bench, according to Shankar.
“It shows how tough a kid this guy is,” Keefe said. “He’s been playing through some pain but he’s continuing to push through. But after [the Toronto] game, we decided to hold him out.”
Kyshawn George, Corey Kispert and Cam Whitmore could all see an uptick in minutes with Johnson out.
Chauncey Billups Pleads Not Guilty, Released On $5MM Bond
Trail Blazers coach and Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges that he participated in and profited from rigged poker games, Philip Marcelo of The Associated Press reports. Billups was released on a $5MM bond secured by his family’s Colorado home.
Per his bond agreement, Billups must refrain from gambling and can have no contact with other defendants or alleged victims. He has surrendered his passport and can only travel to seven states, including Oregon and New York. Billups and his co-defendants, including ex-NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones, appeared for a status conference on Monday and are due back in court on March 4.
The judge told all the attorneys at today’s proceedings that his intention is to expedite the process and start the trial by September of 2026, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN tweets.
Billups was placed on unpaid leave by the NBA after his arrest in late October, shortly after the team’s opening game. His arrest and the timeline of the case essentially assures that he won’t return to coaching for at least the remainder of this season. Tiago Splitter has been serving as the team’s interim coach in Billups’ absence.
Prosecutors said Monday that plea negotiations have begun with some defendants, according to Marcelo. Billups’ lawyer, Marc Mukasey, entered his client’s not guilty plea. They declined to comment to the media afterward.
According to prosecutors, the poker games in which Billups was allegedly involved with defrauded victims of an estimated $7MM.
The arrests of Billups, Jones and Heat guard Terry Rozier, who was charged by the federal goverment with illegal activities regarding prop bets, shook up the league and the sports world just after the season began. The NBA, in response, is seeking to tighten controls regarding wagering on its games.
Atlantic Notes: Simons, Clowney, McCain, Raptors’ Start
Anfernee Simons is pumping up his trade value. The Celtics guard has posted back-to-back 23-point games. Playing time has been key — his minutes have fluctuated from 12 to 33 over the course of the season, and he’s averaging 24.9 MPG overall, Brian Robb of MassLive.com notes.
“I think honestly just keeping it simple,” Simons said. “In previous years, that was kind of my thing — just ease into the game and see how they guarded me, and then I started being more aggressive in the second half. And so here, obviously I don’t have that much time to be able to ease into the games, so taking the opportunities as they are — just being myself, aggressive, and also making the right plays, as well. So I think simplifying that way has been easy for me for the past couple games.”
Simons has a $27.7MM expiring contract, which could make him a major name on the in-season trade market.
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Nets forward Noah Clowney has perked up after a slow start but he took an ill-advised late three-pointer in a loss to the Raptors on Sunday, Brian Lewis of the New York Post points out. Clowney has thrived since moving into the lineup and contributed a season-high 22 points against Toronto. The third-year pro, who is averaging 15.1 PPG in a starting role, is eligible for a rookie scale extension next offseason.
- Jared McCain delivered a season-high 15 points in 26 minutes in the Sixers’ loss to Miami on Sunday. McCain, who is working his way back into a groove after missing time with a thumb injury suffered in camp, had his rookie campaign short-circuited by a knee injury. “It definitely felt the best,” McCain told Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer of Sunday’s game. “I think each game is just getting more reps on the knee and more reps of movement. But I felt really good (Sunday). Felt like I got a little burst for my first step, and yeah, just continue to build off each game. And the more minutes I play and the more time I’m in, I feel like I can get more reps up. And yeah, it felt really good.”
- The Raptors have the second-best record in the Eastern Conference. Is the hot start for real or a mirage? The Athletic’s Eric Koreen explores that topic, noting that Toronto has played just two games against the teams with the six best records — Detroit, Oklahoma City, Denver, the Lakers, San Antonio and Houston — and lost them both decisively.
Pacific Notes: Perry, DeRozan, Booker, Durant, Goodwin, Paul
The Kings are in a familiar place, sitting near the bottom of the Western Conference standings after a 4-13 start. New general manager Scott Perry is preaching something that fans in Sacramento have heard for many years — be patient.
“I totally understand their frustrations to this point,” Perry told Sam Amick of The Athletic. “It hasn’t been what they wanted. But again, it’s the old saying that Rome wasn’t built in a day — and that’s a fact. If you look at a number of the top teams in the league, they all went through a very tough stretch when they were trying to lay a foundation and create an environment that led to sustainable winning. … All I’ve ever asked from the very beginning is just: buckle up, be patient for the ride. We definitely have a plan in place, and we’ll do this thing together.”
Complicating Perry’s mission is the fact that six high-salary players are signed through next season. The highest of the 2026/27 salaries, Zach LaVine‘s $49MM, is a player option and there’s no clarity as to whether he’ll pick it up, according to Amick. The Clippers have shown some interest in the oldest player on the Kings’ roster, DeMar DeRozan, per Amick. He has a partial guarantee ($10MM) on his $25.7MM contract for next season.
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- Kevin Durant will miss the Rockets’ game at Phoenix tonight due to a family matter. Suns guard Devin Booker is disappointed he won’t get to face his former teammate, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic tweets. “I hope everything is OK with his family first, but yeah, I would love a matchup with him,” Booker said.
- Jordan Goodwin won a training camp battle to earn a roster spot after being claimed off waivers by the Suns. Goodwin has been a steady contributor off the bench, averaging 7.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. “He just has a knack not only on offensive rebounds, but deflections. Any type of loose balls. Just has a hunger to get the basketball. That’s part of who he is, that’s part of what made him and that’s part of why we love him,” coach Jordan Ott said, per Rankin (Twitter link).
- Chris Paul evokes a wide range of reaction but The Athletic’s Zach Harper lays out his case of why the Clippers guard should be appreciated by NBA fans. The 12-time All-Star is retiring after the season.
Eastern Notes: Mathurin, Embiid, George, Ivey, Risacher
The Pacers’ losing streak stretched to eight games on Monday but there was a silver lining in their loss to the red-hot Pistons, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star points out. Bennedict Mathurin, who had missed 11 games due to a toe sprain, scored 23 of his 25 points in the second half.
Mathurin asserts that the team has the ability to turn things around.
“We’re 1-13 right now,” Mathurin said. “There’s teams in the NBA that have won 10 games in a row. Why can’t we be the team that wins 10 games in a row? It’s just about believing. It’s just about doing what’s right for our team. … People act like it’s the end of the world. If we were 1-57 I’d say maybe, but it’s 1-13. We’ve played 14 games. It’s not even 15% percent of the season, so I’m still positive, man.”
Center Isaiah Jackson feels the same way.
“I think energy is everything,” he said. “One guy gets going and it can give us a spark. I think that’s all you need. We’re just gonna continue to keep going.”
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Joel Embiid is listed as doubtful due to right knee injury management for the Sixers’ game against Toronto on Wednesday, Adam Aaronson of The Philly Voice tweets. Paul George won’t play due to what the team describes as left knee injury recovery. Embiid hasn’t played since Nov. 8, while George made his season debut on Monday and played 21 minutes, in which he contributed nine points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks in a win over the Clippers. Wednesday’s game is the first of a back-to-back set, so George seems likely to suit up on Thursday.
- The Pistons assigned guard Jaden Ivey to their G League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise, for conditioning purposes, their PR department tweets. A restricted free agent after this season, Ivey hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since New Year’s Day, when he suffered a fractured left fibula. He recovered from that injury over the offseason, but underwent right knee surgery during the preseason last month.
- Hawks second-year forward Zaccharie Risacher missed his team’s game against the Pistons on Tuesday due to a left hip contusion but he should return soon, according to Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He suffered a nasty fall during a dunk attempt against the Suns on Sunday. Risacher’s legs swung up and he somersaulted and crashed to the floor, landing on his left side.
Knicks Notes: Brunson, Robinson, Clarkson, 3-Point Defense
Knicks star guard Jalen Brunson was diagnosed with a Grade 1 ankle sprain last week. On Monday, Brunson was already spotted firing up jump shots in Miami’s Kaseya Center, according to Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News.
Now, there’s a possibility he’ll be back as soon as Wednesday. He’s listed as questionable to play against Dallas, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post tweets. Brunson has missed the last two games, in which the Knicks split a home-and-home with the Heat.
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- Mitchell Robinson logged fewer than 20 minutes against the Heat on Monday and hasn’t exceeded 20 minutes in any games he’s played. However, that could change as soon as the next game. “[His minutes limit] has increased. It’s gone up three times,” coach Mike Brown said, per Bondy. “It’s all part of the load-management thing. So it’s not necessarily a restriction. It’s just continuing the process with our load management. So it’s going up. He could’ve played 27 minutes.”
- Jordan Clarkson admits that spending the last couple of years with the rebuilding Jazz affected his play. He has a different mindset playing for a contender this season. “It’s a level of focus. I’m glad to be back in this and part of this and back contending, be in the playoffs and know that we’re playing for something,” Clarkson told Bondy. “That changes a player’s mindset. It’s just a bunch of focus that goes into it and I’m locked in.” Clarkson scored 24 and 14 points, respectively, in the two matchups with Miami. He’s shooting 46.7% overall and 38.8% from deep this season — both marks would be well above his career averages.
- In a film breakdown, The Athletic’s James Edwards III displays how the Knicks’ defensive schemes, which are focused on sealing off the paint, allows opponents to pursue three-point opportunities. The Knicks are second worst in the league in three-point defense, allowing opponents to shoot 39.4% from beyond the arc.