Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Crawford, Thomas, Thybulle
The Sixers are testing a new starting lineup of Shake Milton, Josh Richardson, Tobias Harris, Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid during the NBA’s resumed season in Orlando, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes in his latest mailbag.
The adjusted lineup includes playing Simmons at power forward, adding another floor-spacer in Milton to complement the group. Simmons is still expected to be heavily featured on the ball, with veteran Al Horford coming off the bench in the frontcourt.
Philadelphia holds the sixth-best record in the East at 39-26, disappointing onlookers who pegged the club as an elite defensive team with an original starting five of Simmons, Richardson, Harris, Horford and Embiid.
The Sixers now hope to use Simmons in a point forward role with added shooting, though the team must compete with clubs such as Milwaukee (53-12), Toronto (46-18), Boston (43-21) and Miami (41-24) in a crowded Eastern Conference to reach the NBA Finals.
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division today:
- Jamal Crawford has a unique opportunity to impress with the Nets during the NBA’s restart, Brian Lewis of The New York Post writes. Brooklyn signed Crawford to a substitute contract earlier this month, with the team missing the likes of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, DeAndre Jordan, Wilson Chandler, Taurean Prince and Nicolas Claxton in Orlando.
- Along with Crawford, forward Lance Thomas is also excited for his new chance with the Nets, Zach Braziller of The New York Post writes. Thomas, 32, signed his contract last week and practiced with the team on Saturday. “It was great to get out of quarantine,” Thomas said. “Sitting in the room for about six-to-seven days, I was itching to get back on the court. I reacclimated with the guys and I was excited for the opportunity.”
- Sixers forward Matisse Thybulle continues to make a strong impression on the team as it gears up for the resumed season, Lauren Rosen of NBA.com writes. “Matisse has been incredibly disruptive defensively,” head coach Brett Brown said. “You just feel like his presence keeps people on their toes. He’s just been so elite.” Thybulle, 23, is averaging 4.7 points, 1.4 steals and 19.5 minutes in his rookie season. He was the No. 20 pick of the 2019 NBA draft after spending four seasons at the University of Washington.
Southwest Notes: Williamson, Rockets, Winslow, Mavs
Pelicans star Zion Williamson primarily worked on fundamentals and conditioning during the NBA’s months-long hiatus, according to Andrew Lopez of ESPN.com.
Williamson spent significant time with his stepfather, Lee Anderson, harping on the core principles of his game in recent weeks. With the 2019/20 NBA season officially restarting in Orlando, Williamson is looking to build on what’s already been an impressive rookie campaign.
“His stepfather did a fantastic job of working him out every day, of making him be in good conditioning when we got him back,” head coach Alvin Gentry said. “He’s made a lot of strides in his shooting, I think. Although we weren’t together, he did a lot to improve his game.”
Williamson is averaging 23.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 29.7 minutes in 19 games this season, displaying unprecedented athleticism and power in his first year with the team. New Orleans is tentatively scheduled to have its first scrimmage on Wednesday, July 22 against Brooklyn.
Here are some other notes out of the Southwest Division:
- Rockets stars Russell Westbrook and James Harden are expected to arrive in Orlando soon, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes. Houston had its first team practice on Saturday without the star duo, with head coach Mike D’Antoni hinting that the two All-Star guards will likely join the club in the next few days.
- Evan Barnes of the Memphis Commercial Appeal examines how Justise Winslow fits in with the Grizzlies, particularly under head coach Taylor Jenkins’ offensive system. Jenkins indicated that Winslow will likely be used in a play-making role during the NBA’s resumed season, Barnes writes. “His versatility is really going to come out in our style of play,” Jenkins said. “That’s why I talk about him being just a great fit and a perfect fit for our system because he can play multiple positions on offense.”
- Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News explores how much playoff experience will matter for the Mavericks, whose top two players (Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis) have yet to see postseason action in their careers. The typical home and road atmospheres that teams usually encounter in the playoffs naturally won’t be the same this year due to COVID-19. “It’s hard for me to predict that, how it’s going to be,” Porzingis admitted. “This is going to be my first experience and no matter what the circumstances are, I’m going to try to get the most out of it and get the most experience and play the highest level basketball I’ve ever played.”
Northwest Notes: Jazz, Bogdanovic, Roberson, Blazers
For the Jazz, adjusting to the NBA’s campus in Orlando was especially difficult during the first two days of the trip, Tony Jones of The Athletic details.
Like other teams, each player and staff member in Utah’s traveling party had to quarantine for the first 48 hours once they arrived. The sudden adjustment to being isolated was an eye-opener for many within the franchise.
“Those first 48 hours sucked,” Joe Ingles said with a chuckle. “The window of the room was sealed shut, so I couldn’t open it. So I fear over the course of some months, the room is going to get a little stanky.”
Coaches and staff members were no exception to this, naturally, with head coach Quin Snyder offering his perspective on the first 48 hours of his journey.
“We had a lot of time to ourselves,” Snyder said. “It was a lot of time to think. I had to be careful to not overthink.”
Utah is entering the resumed season with the fourth-best record in the Western Conference at 41-23, trailing the No. 3 seed Nuggets by 1.5 games and the No. 2 seed Clippers by three games.
Here are some other notes out of the Northwest Division tonight:
- The Jazz are also adjusting to life without Bojan Bogdanovic in Orlando, Ryan McDonald of The Deseret News writes. Bogdanovic is slated to miss the rest of the season after undergoing wrist surgery in May, averaging 20.2 points in 63 games on the year. “Missing Bojan, having to adjust the way we play, our style, I think Coach is adapting in a way that helps us out to play more freely but still have a lot of structure and the way he wants us to play,” Royce O’Neale said.
- Thunder forward Andre Roberson joined the team in practice on Friday for the first time in nearly a year, Royce Young of ESPN writes. Roberson, who last saw NBA action over two years ago, first sustained a ruptured patellar tendon in January of 2018. He suffered a setback later in the year that required additional surgery, then experienced another setback six weeks later by sustaining an avulsion fracture in his knee. “He looked really, really good in terms of the way he was moving,” head coach Billy Donovan said. “It was great to see him out there. I was really happy for him. But like we’ve talked about in the past, we’ll see how he can continue to build up and develop here over the next week, but he was out there today and he participated in everything.”
- The Trail Blazers’ big men looked good in their returns to the court last week, Jason Quick of The Athletic writes. Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins have both healed from their respective injuries, with Portland now sporting three seven-foot players when including Hassan Whiteside. “They both looked like the way we remembered them,” coach Terry Stotts said. “I told Nurk that — he’s the Nurk I remember playing at both ends of the floor. He made some really good passes, good rebounds. And Zach was full of energy. You couldn’t tell either one of them missed time. It was very encouraging.”
Heat Notes: Adebayo, Nunn, Riley, Leonard, Future
The Heat held their first team practice since March 10 on Friday, though veteran guard Goran Dragic revealed in a conference call this week that two players were missing: Bam Adebayo and Kendrick Nunn, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
Miami, as Jackson writes, currently has two unidentified players recovering from COVID-19. Head coach Erik Spoelstra declined to comment on how many players attended Friday’s practice, only adding that the team had a “full gym” for the session.
“Hopefully Bam can come and K-Nunn and we can be a whole team and make some damage,” Dragic said. “Some guys are not here. We are eager, expecting them to come, hopefully to be healthy and we can all start practicing together.”
Heat forward Derrick Jones Jr., who tested positive for coronavirus toward the end of June, has fully recovered and is with the team in Orlando, Jackson notes. Miami will look to build on its high-energy practice as it shifts its focus toward a July 22 scrimmage against Sacramento.
“We had a good workout, looked like a Miami Heat practice, had a bunch of extra energy to get out,” Spoelstra said. “Guys enjoyed being around each other. You could feel the genuine enthusiasm.”
There’s more out of Miami today:
- Meyers Leonard appears to have fully recovered from an ankle injury sustained in early February, Jackson notes in the same story. Spoelstra mentioned that Leonard is a full go, is ready for contact, and is moving great. He’s averaged 6.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 20.1 minutes per game this year, shooting 43% from 3-point range.
- Heat president Pat Riley and general manager Andy Elisburg will remain in south Florida during the NBA’s resumed season, according to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. Vice president of basketball operations Adam Simon traveled with the team to Disney, as league rules mandate that each team has at least one senior basketball executive on site.
- Winderman examines in a separate story whether the team has enough assets to put together an attractive trade package instead of waiting for free agency in 2021. Miami has long been linked to stars such as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Victor Oladipo, both of whom are set to become free agents at the end of next season.
Thabeet Staying Ready For Next Opportunity Despite Cancellation In TBT
Former No. 2 overall pick Hasheem Thabeet has re-entered unrestricted free agency after a teammate in The Basketball Tournament tested positive for COVID-19 at the start of the month.
Thabeet, 33, was set to compete with the “Playing for Jimmy V” team during the annual tournament, but event rules mandate that any team who receives a positive test be disqualified from competing in the bracket any further. Thabeet tested negative for the coronavirus, a person with knowledge of the situation said.
Thabeet, a lengthy 7’3″ center, remains an intriguing option for teams in need of rim protection. He has received NBA and overseas interest over the past year, working out for teams such as the Knicks, Bucks, Nuggets and Warriors in 2019. The overall consensus remains the same regardless of the atmosphere he plays in: Thabeet appears to be in prime condition.
“Hasheem is in unbelievable shape,” Alex Neumann, the general manager of Playing for Jimmy V, told Hoops Rumors. “He looks better than he ever has. He still has his athleticism and got up and down the floor really well.
“His basketball IQ is off the charts. Just helping the young guys on the team, helping in film sessions and putting in offensive sets — he absolutely looks like he belongs on the NBA court.”
Thabeet was drafted second overall in 2009 after spending three years at UConn, and subsequently made NBA stops with Memphis, Houston, Portland, Oklahoma City and the L.A. Lakers. He was selected in the first round of the 2019 NBA G League Draft to Fort Wayne after spending some time overseas.
Along with his shot-blocking abilities, Thabeet is known for being a respected locker room veteran — Nets superstar Kevin Durant previously stated that Thabeet was one of the best teammates he has ever had. Teams in need of rim protection entering the NBA’s campus in Orlando or training camp later this fall could turn to Thabeet, who is staying active and is eagerly anticipating his next opportunity.
“What I can bring to a team right now is a defensive aspect in the paint,” Thabeet told Hoops Rumors. “You have to know your role. I believe I can bring in defensive plays at a high level.
“I’m ready to control the paint and get back to playing at a high level of basketball. I really believe I can still play at a high level once I get that one chance, then we’ll go from there.”
The 2019/20 NBA season is scheduled to resume on July 30, with free agency set to start in mid-October and training camps for next season tentatively expected to commence by the start of December. Teams in Orlando are eligible to sign substitute players to their rosters in the event that a player contracts COVID-19 or voluntarily opts out.
Bucks Close Practice Facility Following Rounds Of COVID-19 Testing
The Bucks have shut down the team’s practice facility following results from COVID-19 testing on Friday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Milwaukee isn’t expected to re-open its facility for workouts before the team travels to Orlando on Thursday for the NBA’s resumption, Wojnarowski adds.
Along with the Bucks, the Clippers, Heat and Nuggets have all been forced to close their facilities within the past week due to positive coronavirus tests. The Suns and Nets also had to shut their facilities down in June.
The Bucks currently sit atop the Eastern Conference standings at 53-12, winning six of their last 10 games before the season was indefinitely suspended on March 11. They hold an impressive 28-3 record at home, going 34-5 against teams in the East this season.
Milwaukee is slated to play its first game on July 31 against Boston. To this point, only individual workouts have commenced at team practice facilities — group workouts won’t be allowed until the 22 teams enter the NBA’s campus in Orlando.
Southwest Notes: Williamson, Mavs, Spurs, Miller
Pelicans star Zion Williamson is ready to continue his impressive rookie season when the NBA resumes in Orlando this month, explaining his thoughts on the team’s mindset in a media availability posted on NBA.com.
“That’s a simple answer – we’re trying to make a playoff push, and we’re trying to get back into our full game condition within those eight [seeding] games,” Williamson said.
Williamson played just 19 games before the NBA suspended its season in mid-March, averaging 23.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 29.7 minutes per contest. He’s since taken a leadership role with the club, recognizing the importance of being successful both on the court and off.
“I’m preparing by bonding with my teammates once again,” Williamson said. “Talking to them, saying ‘We’re going to get through this,’ and we’re just going to battle the [mental challenges surrounding this]. As far as me also getting ready for that, it’s just conditioning and honing my skills.”
New Orleans is tied for the 10th best record in the Western Conference with Sacramento at 28-36, trailing the No. 8 seed Grizzlies by 3.5 games. The team’s first game in Orlando will commence on July 30 against Utah.
Here are some other notes from the Southwest Division today:
- Mavericks big man Kristaps Porzingis is confident the team can surprise people during the NBA’s resumed season, Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News writes. Porzingis is holding per-game averages of 19.2 points and 9.5 rebounds after taking a full year off to rehab from a torn ACL.
- Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News explores how the Spurs are mentally preparing themselves for the rest of the season. San Antonio owns the third-worst record of all 22 teams heading to Orlando, going 27-36 through 63 games on the season. “I think we’re all aware of the risk [of resuming play],” Spurs center Jakob Poeltl said. “Everybody individually had to really think about the situation. From what I’m hearing, the NBA is going above and beyond to create the safest possible environment for us. I’m hearing that possibly it’s going to be safer for us to be in that bubble than maybe even being at home. But it’s definitely still a risk.”
- Pelicans forward Darius Miller is unsure if he’ll be able to play in Orlando due to COVID-19, Will Guillory of The Athletic tweets. Miller has been unable to play 3-on-3 or 5-on-5 due to the virus. He suffered an Achilles tear in the summer of 2019, last appearing in an NBA game during the 2018/19 season.
Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Hayward, Nets, Vaughn
Raptors big man Serge Ibaka is confident his team will be ready for the NBA’s resumed season in Orlando later this month, telling reporters in a conference call that his teammates are in great shape and are ready to push for a repeat.
“I saw just how everyone is in great shape,” Ibaka said, as relayed by Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “They came here in great shape and as soon as we got here everyone was starting to put in work.
“I’ve been in the league for 11 years. You can see when people’s locked in and they are ready mentally, and when they are not. … So I can tell you right now, mentally, everybody is ready. Everybody is ready.”
Toronto won the 2019 NBA championship with a core of Ibaka, Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, Kyle Lowry, and others. Although Leonard and Danny Green have since moved on, the team remains at the forefront of contention in the Eastern Conference.
Prior to the season being suspended on March 11, Toronto held a 46-18 record, good for second-best in the East and third-best in the league. COVID-19 will force every team in the league to adjust for the planned resumption, and the Raptors are no exception.
“Honestly it’s really concerning,” Ibaka said of the virus. “Hopefully everybody has to follow the rules, every player, when we get in the bubble in Orlando, we can respect all the notes that they’re going to give us. But I have my daughter who lives here in Orlando, and it’s kind of scary a little bit. It’s something where you have to make sure you look at it.”
There’s more from the Atlantic Division tonight:
- A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston explores the three-year Boston tenure of Gordon Hayward, who originally signing a deal to join the Celtics in July of 2017. “I can’t believe it’s been three years already, to be honest,” Hayward told reporters in a conference call. “A lot has happened for me, for my family.”
- The Nets are exploring potential replacements that can offer frontcourt help behind center Jarrett Allen, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Brooklyn has kicked the tires on multiple free agent centers in recent days, with DeAndre Jordan and Nicolas Claxton both not playing in Orlando this summer. “We have to definitely think about that,” Nets interim head coach Jacque Vaughn said. “Sean (Marks) and I talked this morning on a call and we talked about addressing our size and not putting extra demand on Jarrett. So that could definitely be a route we take for sure. It definitely will be a little bit of a stress test for us. Whether that’s the amount of minutes that we play Jarrett Allen at 5, whether it’s being creative at the backup position, it changes rotations.”
- Vaughn has continued to build bonds with Nets stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, working to keep a consistent system throughout the franchise, Lewis writes in a separate article for the New York Post. “My conversations with those guys are generally based around me checking in to see how they’re doing,” Vaughn said. “Some of those conversations lead into basketball, some of those conversations lead into life conversations, some of those conversations might lead into, ‘I have a podcast for you to listen to.’ So it ranges. For me, it’s more of the connection knowing that I’m thinking about them.”
Hiatus Notes: Burke, Cuban, Seeding, Disney
ESPN and ABC NBA analyst Doris Burke is among many who have contracted COVID-19 since the season was suspended on March 11, with the veteran TV and radio voice detailing her battle against the illness, discussing the NBA’s return and more in an interview with Steve Serby of the New York Post.
“The thing that I felt the most was fatigue and headache,” Burke said about having coronavirus. “So for a good stretch of the first two weeks of that, I was just thinking I had a bad flu, because my symptoms were not aligning with what was being told were the main symptoms — the shortness of breath, the pressure on the chest — I didn’t have those scary symptoms. So for a good stretch of time, I didn’t think I had it. But then I finally decided to get tested.
“It took eight days to get the results, and by the time I had gotten the results of the test, I was starting to come out of it. Was I scared? I had some measure of anxiety. I was sleeping 16, 17 hours a day, and the other time I was not getting out of bed, so I wasn’t doing a whole lot.”
Burke tested positive for COVID-19 at the end of March, becoming one of the first publicly-known NBA figures to contract the virus. When asked about the challenges the NBA will face as it attempts to mount a comeback next month, she didn’t mince words.
“It’s a monster of a project to try to get right and put in place,” Burke said. “As I hear players talk about pre-existing conditions or talk about their fears, I absolutely understand it. And one of the things I thought most about is that a lot of these guys have young kids. You’re not only going down to the bubble, but at some point you’re going to leave that bubble, and what do you do as a player if you’re the parent of a young child? Do you go to a hotel when you get back to your respective market, and do you quarantine for two weeks and therefore stay away from your children longer to make sure, “OK, I’m not positive”?
“The primary thought I have as it relates to fear doesn’t necessarily have to do with myself, it has to do more with anybody who’s not been infected, had COVID, recovered and doesn’t have immunity, because I do worry. … As much as I know that the NBA is going to do absolutely everything in their power to make this environment as safe as possible, the fact of the matter is the ultimate bad outcome remains a possibility. There’s inherent risk that everybody who goes down to Orlando assumes, and how you work that out in your own mind is a very personal choice. And I don’t think we should criticize, judge or in any way, shape or form have negative feelings for those who express concern, because it’s legitimate and it’s real.”
Burke also offered her thoughts on several notable figures around the league in the interview, including Gregg Popovich, Mark Jackson and Zion Williamson.
Here are some other notes related to the NBA’s hiatus:
- Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is advocating for the NBA to keep a permanent schedule change, as detailed by The Dallas Morning News. The league is settling on a late July restart with much of the typical offseason festivities set to happen in October, though next season’s schedule is largely unknown at this time.
- The 88 total seeding games in Orlando will count toward the regular season statistics, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets. However, games as of March 11 will be used for any player that has bonuses in their contract.
- Mark Medina of USA Today examines how Disney employees will work inside the NBA’s bubble when the league resumes in Orlando. The first games are set to commence during the final week of July, with the NBA under pressure to ensure that protocols are followed and safety is prioritized.
Nets To Sign Justin Anderson
The Nets are signing free agent forward Justin Anderson to a contract, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Anderson will serve as a substitute player for Brooklyn, who lost combo forward Wilson Chandler for the season after he announced his intentions to remain home and care for his family on Sunday. The team is also slated to play without Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Nicolas Claxton due to injuries.
Teams are required to submit their final rosters by Wednesday, July 1 for the NBA restart, which is slated to commence in Orlando later next month.
Anderson, who was drafted No. 21 in 2015 by Dallas, spent part of this season with Brooklyn’s G League affiliate in Long Island. He earned a 10-day contract with the Nets in January, later being released by the organization.
Anderson holds prior experience with the Mavericks, Sixers and Hawks in his young NBA career, most recently joining the Wizards for training camp last fall. He owns career-averages of 5.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 13.1 minutes per contest.