Central Notes: Caruso, Garland, Lee, Pistons
Bulls guard Alex Caruso is nearing his return from a wrist injury that’s sidelined him 22 games, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago writes. Caruso fractured his wrist on Jan. 21 and participated fully in the team’s practice on Friday.
“We haven’t talked about specific target yet,” Caruso said. “I think we’re just trying to take it day-by-day to make sure it passes each test. Wake up (Saturday), hopefully no soreness that will hold me back and go from there.”
Chicago plays Cleveland on Saturday, Sacramento on Monday and Utah on Wednesday. Caruso is currently listed as questionable to play on Saturday. In 28 games this season, he has averaged 8.4 points, 3.9 assists and 1.9 steals, playing 27.7 minutes per contest.
There’s more from the Central Division tonight:
- As the season has progressed, Cavaliers guard Darius Garland has received more attention from opposing defenses, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Garland has become a franchise cornerstone for the Cavaliers, averaging 21.0 points and 8.3 assists per game in his first All-Star season. As Fedor notes, it’ll be important for Cleveland to counter those defenses, especially with the playoffs roughly a month away.
- Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic hosts a Q&A with Bucks assistant Charles Lee, who remains a future NBA head coaching candidate. Lee has been with Milwaukee since 2018 after previously serving as an assistant with the Hawks for four years.
- Rod Beard of The Detroit News examines what the Pistons could do with their cap space this offseason. As Beard outlines, Detroit is projected to have roughly $31.4MM to pursue free agents. The team will also have former No. 2 pick Marvin Bagley III as a restricted free agent.
New York Notes: Rose, Reddish, Aldridge, Irving
Knicks guard Derrick Rose (ankle) seems far away from returning, Marc Berman of the New York Post tweets. Rose originally underwent ankle surgery in December and had a second procedure on February 25 to address an infection.
According to Berman, Rose left the team’s road trip for an exam in New York last week. Head coach Tom Thibodeau said his infection is just now clearing up, but no other details were given about a timetable.
Rose, 33, has only played 26 games this season for the Knicks. New York currently sits 12th in the Eastern Conference standings with a 28-39 record, trailing the No. 10 Hawks by 4.5 games. The team has 15 games remaining to push for a play-in tournament appearance.
Here are some other notes from New York:
- Knicks swingman Cam Reddish won’t require surgery to repair his separated right shoulder, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News tweets. Reddish will miss the rest of the regular season due to the injury. He played in 15 games after being acquired by the team in January.
- Nets big man LaMarcus Aldridge will miss at least one more week due to a right hip impingement, Brian Lewis of the New York Post tweets. Aldridge has been out for the team’s past two contests. He has started in 12 of his 45 games, averaging 13.5 points and 5.6 rebounds in 22.8 minutes for the season.
- In a separate article for the New York Post, Lewis examines how an engaged Kyrie Irving on defense could help unlock the Nets‘ potential. Irving has played in just 18 games for Brooklyn this season, who currently ranks eighth in the East at 34-33.
Jarrett Allen Fractures Finger, Out Indefinitely
MARCH 7: The Cavaliers have confirmed that Allen, who left Sunday’s game due to a left quad contusion, was later diagnosed with a fracture in his left middle finger (Twitter link). That’s his non-shooting hand.
The big man will undergo additional evaluation and treatment, according to the Cavs, who add that no timetable has been set for his return to basketball.
MARCH 6: Cavaliers All-Star center Jarrett Allen has sustained a fractured finger and is expected to be out indefinitely, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Allen suffered the injury during Cleveland’s game against Toronto on Sunday. He exited the contest due to a left quad contusion, however, finishing the night with six points and two rebounds in 10 minutes. The Cavaliers ended up winning the game 104-96.
Allen has appeared in 55 of the team’s 64 games this season. He has averaged a career-high 16.3 points, 10.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks during his first All-Star campaign, shooting an efficient 68% from the floor.
The Cavaliers have upcoming games against the Pacers on Tuesday, Heat on Friday and Bulls on Saturday. Should Allen miss multiple games, big men Kevin Love, Dean Wade and Ed Davis are candidates to receive more playing time.
James Ennis To Sign With Israeli Team
Free agent forward James Ennis has agreed to a lucrative deal in Israel with Hapoel Haifa, sources told Hoops Rumors. Ennis will head overseas for the first time since the 2013/14 season.
Ennis, who has signed 10-day contracts with the Nets, Clippers and Nuggets since December, plans to leave the door open for an eventual NBA return, sources said.
After being selected with the 50th overall pick in the 2013 draft, Ennis began his professional career as a draft-and-stash player, spending a year in Australia and Puerto Rico before coming stateside in 2014.
An eight-year NBA veteran, Ennis has since appeared in 395 regular season games. In addition to Brooklyn, Los Angeles and Denver, he has also made stops in Miami, Memphis, New Orleans, Detroit, Houston, Philadelphia and Orlando since making his NBA debut.
In 41 games with Orlando last season, Ennis averaged 8.4 points per game and made 43.3% of his three-point attempts, the second-highest mark of his career. The 31-year-old also showed versatility by guarding multiple positions defensively.
Hapoel Haifa currently ranks seventh in the 12-team Israeli Basketball Premier League with a 9-8 record, putting the club on track to qualify for the eight-team postseason. Ennis will join former Celtics and Knicks guard Kadeem Allen as the players on the roster who have NBA experience.
Western Notes: Simons, Suns, Jazz, Thunder
Blazers guard Anfernee Simons is adjusting to his new role of being the number one option on the team, Casey Holdahl of NBA.com writes. Portland traded away CJ McCollum, Norman Powell and others at the trade deadline and is missing Damian Lillard due to an abdominal injury, clearing the way for Simons to receive a larger role.
“Obviously I’m going to be at the top of the scouting report even more now that (Jusuf Nurkic) is out,” Simons said. Nurkic is dealing with a foot injury and will miss at least three more weeks. “So just learning how to navigate through that. Obviously it’s going to be even more tougher for me but it’s the perfect time to see everything.
“Like, the Warriors threw a box-and-one at me, probably the first time I’ve been boxed-and-one’d since high school. That was an interesting thing to kind of navigate though.”
Simons is in his fourth season with the franchise. He’s averaging a career-high 17.3 points and 3.9 assists per game, shooting 44% from the field, 40.5% from deep and 89% from the free throw line. He most recently finished with 38 points in a loss to the Timberwolves on Saturday.
Here are some other notes from the Western Conference:
- Unlikely heroes are stepping up for the Suns in the absences of Chris Paul (thumb) and Devin Booker (protocols), Cydney Henderson of USA Today writes. Phoenix received a key performance from Cameron Johnson on Friday, as the 26-year-old finished with 38 points and a buzzer-beating game-winner. Mikal Bridges also added 20 points, while Cameron Payne recorded 17 points and 16 assists.
- The Jazz could be facing an offseason of massive change if they don’t make a deep postseason run, ESPN’s Tim McMahon suggested on The Lowe Post. Utah has had an inconsistent season — the team is 8-2 in its last 10 games but lost by 34 on Friday against New Orleans — and could break up the Donovan Mitchell–Rudy Gobert partnership if it doesn’t succeed this year.
- Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report explores how the Thunder could drive various blockbuster deals this summer. Oklahoma City will be armed with cap space and draft picks from a massive rebuild. As Pincus notes, the team currently has up to $31.8MM in cap space, but nearly all of it will be lost when the league calendar year flips on July 1. The assessment comes from factoring in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander‘s new extension and assuming Derrick Favors exercises his $10.2MM player option.
Southwest Notes: Pelicans, Wieskamp, Primo, Nix
The Pelicans‘ recent surge is largely because of their improved defense, William Guillory of The Athletic writes. New Orleans has won four straight games, including a 124-90 victory over the Jazz on Friday.
Prior to that, the Pelicans held the Kings and Lakers to 95 points each, plus the Suns to 102 points. On the season, the team has allowed 108.7 points per game, which ranks 13th in the league. New Orleans currently holds the No. 10 seed in the West at 27-36.
“I feel like we’re doing a great job of defending, keeping guys out of the paint and just forcing them into tough shots,” said Herbert Jones, one of the league’s rising young defenders. “We’re flying all over the place, helping each other out. One guy gets beat, it’s another one of our brothers there to help him out. Hopefully, we can stay consistent and keep defending how we’re defending.”
There’s more from the Southwest:
- Joe Wieskamp earned a standard deal with the Spurs by trusting in their development process, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News explores. The Spurs converted Wieskamp’s two-way deal into a traditional contract on Friday. San Antonio drafted the 22-year-old with the No. 41 pick last year.
- In a separate story for the San Antonio Express-News, Orsborn examines a number of recent Spurs takeaways, including a learning lesson for rookie Joshua Primo. The 19-year-old played 11 fourth-quarter minutes against the Hornets on Saturday, finishing with 10 points.
- Daishen Nix has offered the Rockets a glimpse into the future, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes. Nix has averaged 22.5 points in the G League this season, shooting 49% from the floor and 40% from deep. Houston promoted him from his two-way deal and signed him to a four-year deal last month.
Central Notes: Ball, Caruso, Williams, Vucevic, Love, Jackson
Bulls guards Lonzo Ball (knee) and Alex Caruso (wrist) did individual, non-contact work at the team’s practice on Sunday, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago tweets. Joining them was forward Patrick Williams (wrist), who hasn’t played since October.
Caruso will need to be checked by a doctor again before being cleared for contact, coach Billy Donovan said. Still, all three players are now traveling with the team, Johnson adds (Twitter link).
Chicago next plays at Philadelphia on Monday. Johnson notes the club hasn’t decided if Ball, Caruso and Williams will continue traveling to Detroit on Wednesday, as they could benefit more from rehabbing at home before the team returns Saturday.
Here are some other notes from the Central Division:
- Bulls star Nikola Vucevic didn’t practice on Saturday due to hamstring tightness, according to K.C. Johnson (Twitter link). Vucevic did weightlifting work and is listed as questionable to play against Philadelphia on Monday. He finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and two steals in a loss to the Bucks on Friday.
- Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com examines how Kevin Love — a strong candidate for Sixth Man of the Year — found his basketball joy again. Love has revitalized his career with the Cavaliers this season, averaging 13.9 points and 7.1 rebounds in 22.1 minutes per game. He’s also shot 38.9% from three-point range, which is his highest mark since the 2017/18 campaign.
- Pistons guard Frank Jackson (spine) will see a specialist and miss at least one more week, James Edwards III of The Athletic tweets. Jackson is receiving further evaluation after missing two straight games. He’s averaged a career-high 10.7 points per game this season.
Eastern Notes: Simmons, Oladipo, Nash, Knicks
Nets star Ben Simmons was seen taking shots at the team’s practice on Saturday, but there appears to be no change in his return timetable, Peter Botte of the New York Post writes. General manager Sean Marks said on Thursday he believes the best-case scenario is Simmons returning within two weeks.
“He’s still in the same boat that Sean talked about, still his individual work and getting treatment at the same time, so nothing’s changed,” assistant coach Jacque Vaughn said, according to Botte.
Simmons was acquired by the Nets in a deal involving disgruntled superstar James Harden nearly one month ago. He last played on June 20 — when the Sixers were eliminated by the Hawks in the playoffs.
There’s more from the Eastern Conference tonight:
- Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel examines whether Victor Oladipo will back up Kyle Lowry at point guard for the Heat. Miami is listing Oladipo as questionable to make his season debut on Monday against Houston, but the expectation is that he’ll play. The team used him at point guard when it acquired him from the Rockets last season.
- Nets coach Steve Nash said he didn’t have any COVID-19 symptoms while in the league’s health and safety protocols, Brian Lewis of the New York Post tweets. Nash exited protocols on Saturday and coached his first game back on Sunday. Brooklyn wound up losing its fourth straight game, dropping a 120-126 road contest to Boston.
- The Knicks are continuing to search for answers at point guard, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. New York has mostly played without Derrick Rose due to injury, but former All-Star Kemba Walker recently decided to shut it down after receiving inconsistent minutes. The team has also given Alec Burks and Immanuel Quickley heavy minutes. It trails the Hawks by six games for the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Northwest Notes: Murray, Porter Jr., House, McLaughlin, Wolves
The Nuggets scrapped their plan to send Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. to the team’s G League affiliate in Grand Rapids on Friday, Mike Singer of the Denver Post writes. Murray is rehabbing from a torn ACL, while Porter is recovering from lumbar spine surgery.
The pair was set to travel to Grand Rapids, but logistical concerns and the team only being able to practice once nixed the idea — it’s about a two-and-a-half hour flight from Denver to Grand Rapids. It remains possible that Murray and Porter could practice or scrimmage with the Gold down the road, Singer notes.
Denver currently ranks sixth in the West with a 37-26 record. Porter is eyeing a return sometime this month, as we previously relayed, while the Nuggets still hope Murray can return before the playoffs.
Here are some other notes from the Northwest:
- Rockets coach Stephen Silas expressed support for Jazz forward Danuel House, who played for Houston from 2018-21, Eric Walden of the Salt Lake City Tribune tweets. House signed three 10-day contracts with Utah before earning a standard deal. “I’m happy for him and proud of him because he’s a contributor for a winning team,” Silas said. “I love him. It wasn’t anything he did wrong (here). I’m happy he landed on his feet.”
- The Timberwolves‘ coaching staff hesitated to get Jordan McLaughlin into the team’s flow earlier this season, Chris Hine of the Star Tribune writes. McLaughlin has since taken on a bigger role for Minnesota, playing double-digit minutes in his last 16 games. “He kind of fell through the cracks in our player development structure a little bit,” head coach Chris Finch admitted. “So that was on us for the beginning of the season.”
- Speaking of the Timberwolves, the team’s bench unit has benefited from its off-court chemistry, Hine writes in a separate story for the Star Tribune. Minnesota finished with 74 bench points a 138-101 victory over the Thunder on Saturday, headlined by strong performances from Malik Beasley, Taurean Prince and Naz Reid.
Western Notes: Giddey, Westbrook, Williamson, Jones
Thunder rookie Josh Giddey will miss at least two more weeks due to hip soreness, head coach Mark Daigneault said, according to Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman (Twitter link). Giddey has missed the team’s last four games, but Daigneault still hopes the 19-year-old can return at some point this season.
“We’re trying to balance development but also being cautious and being wise… We’re learn a lot more in a couple weeks here,” he said, as relayed by Clemente Almanza of OKC Thunder Wire (Twitter link). “See how he responds with the treatment he’s getting now.”
In 54 games this season, Giddey has averaged 12.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists, shooting 41.9% from the floor and 26.3% from deep. Oklahoma City is 20-43 and will likely give more playing time to Tre Mann, Theo Maledon and others in his absence.
Here are some other notes from the Western Conference:
- In his latest article for Substack, Marc Stein cites one league source who believes it’s “impossible” that the Lakers bring back Russell Westbrook next season due to current tension levels. Los Angeles ranks ninth in the Western Conference (27-35) and has lost eight of its last 10 games. Westbrook has averaged 18.1 points per game on 43.3% shooting from the floor, which is slightly below his career average.
- Pelicans star Zion Williamson will rejoin the team when it returns from its road trip next week, Andrew Lopez of ESPN tweets. New Orleans will play Denver on Sunday and Memphis on Tuesday. Williamson is progressing to full-weight bearing activities and his future timetable remains unclear.
- Despite being a rookie, Pelicans forward Herbert Jones already appears to be one of the NBA’s best defenders, Christian Clark of NOLA.com opines. Jones’ defense was a major reason why Jazz star Donovan Mitchell scored just 14 points on 5-for-18 shooting on Friday, with the Pelicans winning by 34. “Herb, you just expect it from him almost,” head coach Willie Green said. “That’s what he does. He doesn’t say much. He just goes out and does his work. What he’s doing, we don’t take for granted. It’s hard to guard the best player every single night.”