Fully-Vaccinated Head Coaches No Longer Required To Wear Masks
Fully-vaccinated NBA head coaches will no longer be required to wear face masks on the sidelines, says Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The updated guidance comes from increased vaccination rates among head coaches and updated protocols issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Charnia notes.
We relayed last week that the league was discussing changes to health and safety protocols after the CDC updated its guidance for fully vaccinated individuals. The CDC announced that “fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver revealed this week that approximately 75% of players have been vaccinated. The league also reported just one new COVID-19 positive case out of nearly 500 players tested since May 12.
LeBron James Violates Protocols, Will Not Face Suspension
Lakers superstar LeBron James violated the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols by attending an event promoting his tequila brand, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reports.
James was reportedly one of several big-name guests at the event, which included rapper Drake and actor Michael B. Jordan, per McMenamin. Attendees were required to provide proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test.
“It’s a violation of the agreed upon protocols, and, as we have in other comparable instances around the league, it has been addressed with the team,” an NBA spokesman said to ESPN.
Despite the violation, James will not be suspended, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). James’ attendance at the event did not rise to “a threat level of virus spread” and he will be available for the team’s first-round series against the Suns, which tips off on Sunday.
As McMenamin notes, James has declined to outright state whether or not he has yet to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Teammate Dennis Schröder recently told German outlet N-TV last month that he and James both had not been vaccinated, but later amended that statement, telling reporters, “I’m the only guy that didn’t get vaccinated. I’ll just leave it at that.”
The Lakers as a team have yet to reach the 85% threshold for fully vaccinated players and personnel, which would loosen several health and safety protocols.
“We have not reached it yet, but we’re still hopeful,” head coach Frank Vogel said recently. “And I think there’s obvious benefits from the standpoint of us being able to do more things with each other in the cities that we’re going to. Something that’s been absent leaguewide in terms of team building and team bonding for all of us. “
Paul Pierce, Ben Wallace Reportedly Part Of 2021 Hall Of Fame Class
Ahead of Sunday’s official announcement, two names of the 2021 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame class have been reported: Ben Wallace and Paul Pierce.
Sources told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated that the legendary defensive stalwart Wallace will be enshrined, while Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe reported Pierce’s induction.
It’s a well-deserved honor for both men who were crucial pieces of championships teams in the 2000s. Wallace, 46, was a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and a key component to the Pistons’ 2004 NBA Finals victory over the Lakers. The four-time All-Star was best known for his stint in Detroit where his No. 3 jersey hangs retired in the rafters.
Wallace was a standout at Virginia Union in the mid-1990s before going undrafted and signing with the then-Washington Bullets. While he had stops with the Bullets/Wizards, Magic, Cavaliers, and Bulls, Wallace spent nine of his 16 NBA seasons with the Pistons.
As for Pierce, he was a 19-year NBA veteran best known for his successful stint as a member of the Celtics. After his junior season at the University of Kansas, Pierce was drafted 10th overall by the Celtics in 1998 and quickly emerged as one of the NBA’s brightest young stars. Pierce’s early success led to Shaquille O’Neal dubbing him as “The Truth,” a moniker he carries to this day.
Pierce made his first NBA All-Star team in his fourth NBA season and would go on to be a 10-time All-Star. He helped lead the Celtics to a 2008 NBA championship alongside fellow stars Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. Boston made another NBA Finals with Pierce in 2010 but lost to the Lakers in seven games.
Pierce’s 15-year run in Boston ended with a high-profile trade to the Nets in 2013, which has become infamous for Brooklyn’s massive overpay for just one disappointing season with Pierce and Garnett. Pierce finished his career with stops in Washington and Los Angeles before retiring following the 2016/17 campaign.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
James, Davis, Schröder To Play On Saturday
The Lakers‘ trio of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Dennis Schröder will play on Saturday for the team’s afternoon tilt against the Pacers, head coach Frank Vogel announced.
Los Angeles has seen the aforementioned threesome all miss extended stretches as James and Davis dealt with injuries while Schröder was recently cleared from the NBA’s health and safety protocols. At 40-30, the Lakers occupy the seventh seed in the Western Conference and will need to win their remaining two games to have a chance to avoid the play-in tournament.
Schröder entered the safety protocols in early May, causing the Lakers to be without their starting point guard during a critical stretch. He has averaged 15.5 PPG and 5.8 APG across 59 contests.
Davis missed the Lakers’ last game against the Rockets on Wednesday but has otherwise been a regular for the Lakers since returning from a two-month absence due to right calf strain and tendinosis. Davis has been limited to just 34 games this season, averaging 21.9 PPG and 8.0 RPG for the defending champions.
As for James, he suffered a high ankle sprain on March 20 and returned on April 30, but then reaggravated the injury just days later on May 2. He has not played since and has seen his return pushed back on several occasions. James was in the midst of an MVP-caliber season before his injury, averaging 25.0 PPG, 7.9 RPG and 7.8 APG in 43 games.
Miles Bridges Cleared To Return From COVID-19 Protocols
Hornets forward Miles Bridges has been cleared to return from health and safety protocols and is available for Saturday’s contest against the Knicks, the team announced (Twitter link).
Bridges was initially ruled out for 10-14 days due to the protocols on May 4, but head coach James Borrego indicated earlier in the week that the forward could return by this weekend.
In his third season, Bridges, 23, was in the midst of another strong campaign, averaging 12.4 PPG and 6.1 RPG in 29.0 minutes per contest.
Having Bridges back for the final two games will be a major boost for Charlotte as the team looks to secure a favorable play-in seed. The Hornets (33-37) are currently tied with the Pacers for No. 8 and are just a half-game ahead of the 10th-seeded Wizards. Charlotte will face Washington in the regular-season finale on Sunday.
Texas Notes: Wall, Thomas, White, Green, Carlisle
With John Wall‘s first season with the Rockets over, Kelly Iko and John Hollinger of The Athletic examined the initial impressions the veteran guard made in Houston, considering whether or not he fits into the team’s future long-term.
Wall was a perennial All-Star with the Wizards early in his career, but a series of injuries cost him significant portions of the past three seasons. As Iko and Hollinger write, Wall has to be commended for the mere fact that he returned to the court and played significant minutes, showing glimpses of his past explosiveness.
However, both scribes also noted that despite those glimpses, Wall appeared to be a fraction of the player he used to be, raising questions about his ability to even remain a starting point guard for the rest of his career. The hefty sum remaining on his contract will make it difficult to trade and therefore, it remains to be seen how the Rockets, or any team, would deploy him moving forward.
Check more news out of the NBA’s Texas squads:
- Newly-signed Rockets forward Khyri Thomas contributed 16 points in his first game and expressed gratitude for the opportunity, tweets Mark Berman of FOX 26. “I’m never gonna take this opportunity for granted, whether it’s 10-day or a whole year,” he said. “I’m not trying to go out and be Michael Jordan. Just trying to fit in.”
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Having established himself as a long-term keeper for the Spurs, Derrick White is now working on being a more vocal leader, as Spencer Davies of BasketballNews.com writes. “The front office and (head coach Gregg Popovich) have been on me (about) trying to be more of a leader,” White said. “It’s something that I’m continuing to develop in. The more confidence you have, the more you’re doing the right things, the more you can hold other people accountable. So it’s a constant thing that I’m developing, and hopefully I just keep getting better and better at it.”
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The Spurs could conceivably make the play-in tournament without doing much winning as the regular season winds down. However, the team is looking to achieve more than just sneaking into the new postseason format, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News writes.
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Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle is taking a nuanced view toward the play-in tournament, which Dallas could find itself participating in without a strong finish to the season. Carlisle said the goal should be to avoid the tournament altogether, but if it’s an option, it should be “embraced” and could be a valuable experience to a young team, tweets Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News.
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As the Mavericks have shown a willingness to be shifty and open-minded with their lineups, Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News wonders if it’s time to give rookie Josh Green more playing time.
Magic No Longer Signing Admiral Schofield
Although a report several days ago stated that the Magic intended to sign forward Admiral Schofield via the hardship exception, Orlando’s plans have hit a glitch and the signing will no longer happen, tweets The Athletic’s Josh Robbins.
It’s unclear what exactly changed in the Magic’s plans, as the team has experienced a series of injuries and appeared to be on the verge of a deal with Schofield. Teams can use the hardship exception if at least four players miss three or more games and are expected to miss at least another two weeks.
Orlando currently has five players that could miss the remainder of the regular season, in addition to Jonathan Isaac and Markelle Fultz, so the team would seemingly qualify for a hardship exception. We’ll have to wait to see if the Magic end up signing a different player or just stick with their current roster.
Schofield, 24, was the first player selected in January’s NBAGL draft but produced modest results. He averaged just 10.1 PPG and 5.7 RPG in 14 games for Charlotte’s G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm. He also shot below 40% from the field and a paltry 22.7% from beyond the arc.
The UK native was selected 42nd overall in the 2019 NBA Draft but has appeared in just 33 games during the 2019/20 campaign with the Wizards.
Donovan Mitchell To Be Re-Evaluated In One Week
Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell was examined by medical staff in his recovery from a sprained ankle and it was determined he would be re-evaluated in one week, the team announced on Friday (Twitter link).
Mitchell suffered the ankle injury on April 16, but fortunately for both him and the Jazz, an MRI revealed no structural damage. He has steadily progressed and despite his absence, the Jazz remain in first place in the Western Conference with a 49-18 record.
Before the injury, Mitchell was in the midst of a career season, averaging a career-high 26.4 PPG along with 5.2 APG and 4.4 RPG in 53 games. With the regular season winding down, it remains to be seen how much time the two-time All-Star will have to ramp up before the postseason.
LaMelo Ball, Malik Monk To Return Saturday
4:26pm: Ball and Monk have both been cleared to play tonight, with Ball returning to the starting lineup, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Coach James Borrego plans to have them both play four to five minutes at a time, but didn’t offer an estimate of how much total court time either player will see.
12:20pm: Monk intends to return for Saturday’s game, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who notes (via Twitter) that Ball will test his wrist before the game before making a final determination on his availability.
11:38am: Ball is expected to return to action on Saturday against the Pistons, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
9:06am: The Hornets have upgraded both LaMelo Ball (right wrist fracture) and Malik Monk (right ankle sprain) from out to questionable for Saturday’s tilt against the Pistons, paving the way for both players to return.
Ball, 19, suffered a fractured wrist in late March, an injury that was believed to be season-ending. However, the then-projected Rookie of the Year has progressed well in his recovery from wrist surgery and may end up missing just over a month.
Before the injury, the third overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft averaged 15.9 PPG, 6.1 APG and 5.9 RPG while shooting 45.1% from the field in 41 games (21 starts).
As for Monk, he suffered his sprained ankle in early April and was initially projected to miss at least two weeks. The injury lingered and Monk will also end up missing a month, should he return tonight or in any of the Hornets’ upcoming games.
Monk, 23, averaged 13.2 PPG for Charlotte in 32 contests off the bench before his injury.
The Hornets were in fourth place in the Eastern Conference at the time of Ball’s injury but the team has since slipped down to eighth with a 30-32 record.
Central Notes: Tucker, Grant, Doumbouya, LaVine, Pacers
After P.J. Tucker requested a trade for months from the rebuilding Rockets, the veteran big man ended up with the Bucks, an Eastern Conference powerhouse in recent seasons. However, despite leading the league in wins two years in a row and getting back-to-back MVP seasons from Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee has endured multiple disappointing playoff exits.
As Milwaukee prepares for another postseason, and hopefully a deeper run, Tucker spoke about his role with the team as it aims for a championship. The 35-year-old has been limited to 12 games off the bench for the Bucks after some injury woes, but he tells Sports Illustrated’s Rohan Nadkarni that the team has been clear about his role.
“Yeah, definitely. Coach Bud (Mike Budenholzer) is super transparent,” Tucker said. “And I’m at the point in my career where I know why I’m here. I’ve lived through every situation possible. It’s not rocket science. They don’t want me to do nothing I don’t do. What happened last year, and how they lost the couple years, winning so many games in the regular season, not getting as far as they should have, they are looking for different lineups that can help win games. For me, it’s about bringing all the intangible stuff that they need.”
The rest of the interview is worth a read, as Tucker also talks about his long career, trade from Houston and his time alongside Antetokounmpo.
Check out more Central Division notes:
- Jerami Grant raised some eyebrows when he decided to depart from the Nuggets fresh off a deep run into the postseason and join the rebuilding Pistons. However, Grant says he has zero regrets about that decision, NBA.com’s Keith Langlois writes. “Between me and (GM) Troy (Weaver), there’s a lot of trust. Between me and this organization, there’s a lot of trust,” said Grant. “There’s a lot of trust. I’m happy with my decision. I wouldn’t change. I’d go back and do the same thing over and over.”
- One pleasant surprise for the Pistons this season has been the play of Sekou Doumbouya, who has shown flashes of brilliance in 49 games off the bench. As the season winds down, Detroit hopes the 20-year-old can finish strong, Langlois writes in a separate story. “Sekou is one of our best talkers,” head coach Dwane Casey said. “He’s been in the system. He understands it. I see the carryover from last year to this year and he’s out there explaining to guys. That’s good to see, also.”
- At 29-33, the Pacers have endured a frustrating season that has only been exasperated by all their opening night starters currently being sidelined, Scott Agness of The Fieldhouse Files writes (subscription required).
- Bulls guard Zach LaVine joined his teammates on the bench on Friday, marking his first big step in returning to the club. He has missed Chicago’s nine games due to being in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, and while he has cleared quarantine, it remains to be seen when he’ll be back on the court, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago writes.