Anthony Edwards, Joel Embiid Named Players Of The Week
Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (Western Conference) and Sixers center Joel Embiid (East) have been named the NBA’s players of the week, the league announced (via Twitter).
It’s the first player of the week award for Edwards, according to a Wolves press release. He helped lead Minnesota to a 4-0 record after averaging 31.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 2.0 steals (36.5 minutes). The Wolves are currently 7-2, a half-game out of first place in the West.
Embiid, who helped lead Philadelphia to its own undefeated week at 4-0, averaged 36.3 points, 12.5 boards, 5.0 assists and 2.0 blocks in his four appearances (34.2 minutes). The 76ers have the best record in the NBA at 8-1 and have now had the East’s player of the week twice in the season’s first 21 days — Tyrese Maxey won the award in week one.
According to the NBA (Twitter links), the other nominees in the West were Anthony Davis, Cam Reddish, Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jerami Grant, Nikola Jokic and Alperen Sengun, while Bam Adebayo, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Tyrese Haliburton, Myles Turner, Caris LeVert, Mark Williams, and Maxey were nominated in the East.
Bulls Notes: Dosunmu, Caruso, Lillard, Craig, Trade Values
Third-year guard Ayo Dosunmu gave the Bulls a much-needed lift during Sunday’s victory over Detroit, according to Kyle Williams of The Chicago Sun-Times. After a sluggish first quarter that saw the Bulls down nine points, Dosunmu helped swing the momentum in their favor in the second period, spearheading a 22-4 run with his energy and defense.
“First thing I told him coming out was, ‘That quarter was because of you,’” forward DeMar DeRozan said. “The energy he brought, getting out in transition, the layups and getting those steals. I let him know that without him, that quarter would not have happened.”
Dosunmu finished with 13 points (on 6-of-7 shooting), three assists and three steals and was a game-high plus-19 in 27 minutes on the court, which was a season high. As Williams writes, Dosunmu also helped limit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham — Detroit’s leading scorer — to just 10 points on 4-of-15 shooting.
“I closed with [Dosunmu] today,” head coach Billy Donovan said. “You could have closed with Torrey [Craig]; you could have closed with Patrick [Williams]. I just elected to go with him because I thought he was playing really well on both ends of the floor. He was playing well defensively, in particular guarding Cunningham.”
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- Alex Caruso, who missed Sunday’s game, is considered day-to-day due to a toe injury he sustained in practice, Williams adds in another story. As K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago tweets, Caruso is doubtful for Monday’s contest vs. Milwaukee, while Bucks star Damian Lillard, who has missed the past two games with calf soreness, is probable.
- Pistons head coach Monty Williams spoke glowingly of Craig prior to Sunday’s matchup, Kyle Williams of The Sun-Times notes. Craig, who signed with Chicago as a free agent in the offseason, played under Monty Williams in Phoenix. “He’s just an everyday guy and has a great attitude,” he said of Craig. “You could coach him; you could talk to him about other stuff outside of basketball. He just became one of my favorite players. You can play him at any wing spot, and you can play a number of defenses with him, whether it’s switching, zone or man coverage.”
- After 10 games, the Bulls sit at 4-6. That prompted Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic to list 10 observations from the early portion of the 2023/24 season. After the team brought back most of the same group, many of the same issues from last season are still present, according to Mayberry, including a sluggish offense and the poor fit of Chicago’s “big three.” Jevon Carter, who signed with his hometown team as a free agent over the summer, has been a bright spot. But the Bulls need to shake things up and trades should be coming at some point, says Mayberry.
- Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype projects the trade values of DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic, Patrick Williams and Caruso, writing that Caruso might fetch the most in return due to his “elite defense” and “relatively small annual salary.” Caruso is under contract for $19.4MM over the next two seasons.
Jamaree Bouyea Signs Two-Way Contract With Trail Blazers
NOVEMBER 12: Bouyea’s two-way contract and Mays’ promotion to the standard roster are now official, Portland has confirmed in a pair of press releases.
NOVEMBER 11: The Trail Blazers plan to sign free agent guard Jamaree Bouyea to a two-way contract, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter link). Portland is creating a two-way opening for Bouyea by converting Skylar Mays to a standard deal.
A 6’2″ point guard who went undrafted in 2022 out of San Francisco, Bouyea signed an Exhibit 10 deal with Miami last summer and was waived before the 2022/23 season started. Although he spent most of his rookie season in the G League, he did play five NBA games for the Heat and Wizards while on 10-day contracts, averaging 3.0 PPG, 1.2 RPG and 0.8 SPG in 14.2 MPG.
The 24-year-old had a major role for the Sioux Falls Skyforce (Miami’s affiliate) last season, averaging 17.2 PPG, 6.2 APG, 6.0 RPG, 1.8 SPG and 0.9 BPG on .527/.321/.709 shooting across 38 Showcase Cup and regular season contests (35.0 MPG). Bouyea signed a two-way deal with the Heat this summer, but was waived a couple months later, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Portland’s 18-man roster will be full once Mays is promoted and Bouyea is signed.
Scoot Henderson To Miss 2-3 More Weeks With Ankle Injury
NOVEMBER 11: The Trail Blazers announced in a press release that Henderson will miss another two or three weeks while the bruising heals.
NOVEMBER 10: Trail Blazers point guard Scoot Henderson, the third overall pick of this year’s draft, is expected to miss a couple more weeks due to a right ankle bone bruise, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter link).
As Charania notes, Henderson sprained his ankle on Nov. 1 against Detroit and has been sidelined ever since, missing the past three games with the injury.
If he returns in exactly two weeks, the 19-year-old will have missed 10 games — the Blazers play seven times over the next 14 days.
It’s normal for rookies — especially teenagers — to have slow starts to their NBA careers, and that certainly has been the case for Henderson.
Through five games (28.8 minutes), he’s averaging 8.8 points and 2.2 rebounds on a .346/.095/.857 shooting line, with nearly as many turnovers per game (4.0) as assists (4.6).
With guards Henderson, Malcolm Brogdon (hamstring strain) and Anfernee Simons (thumb surgery) all sidelined, head coach Chauncey Billups gave Skylar Mays extended run in Wednesday’s overtime loss to Sacramento and he played well, posting 18 points (on 8-of-15 shooting) and 11 assists in 37 minutes.
Mays, a former second-round pick, is on a two-way contract with Portland.
Atlantic Notes: Robinson, Pritchard, Flynn, Oubre
Knicks center Mitchell Robinson is generating early buzz for Defensive Player of the Year, according to Steve Popper of Newsday (subscriber link).
As Popper writes, the 25-year-old effectively stymied No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama on national TV earlier this week, with the French phenom going 0-of-6 with Robinson as his closest defender. Robinson also made a strong national impression in last season’s playoffs, dominating the paint in New York’s first-round series against the Cavs, who feature a “heavily hyped” two-big lineup.
Head coach Tom Thibodeau is always eager to discuss how well Robinson has been playing, specifically pointing to his net rating, Popper adds. The Knicks are plus-7.6 when Robinson is on the court vs. minus-1.3 when he’s off, for a net rating differential of plus-8.9 — the second-best mark on the team among rotation regulars.
“His defense is incredible,” Thibodeau said. “Excellent pick-and-roll defender. Rim protection. Defensive rebounding. Multiple effort guy. Really come a long way.
“It’s been steady growth. I think when you look at it, to me, probably the most important statistic there is net rating. Scoring margin, net rating tells you impact on winning. So when you look at where he was four years ago to where he is today, it’s been great strides that have been made, and the impact on winning is the most important thing.”
Here’s more from the Atlantic:
- Payton Pritchard signed a four-year, $30MM rookie scale extension just before the season started. The Celtics guard has been struggling to make shots early on in 2023/24, but head coach Joe Mazzulla assured him that he’ll continue to receive minutes as long as he’s impacting the game in other ways, and Pritchard finally had a breakthrough performance in Friday’s win against Brooklyn, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic. “He’s found a way to make a big impact the whole year, and to me, he changed the game for us tonight,” Mazzulla said. “And what we see is, like, it’s easy to look at the scoring of the bench and be like, ‘We’re not producing.’ But there’s so much other stuff that those guys do for us on a daily basis.”
- Backup point guard Malachi Flynn struggled to find minutes under former head coach Nick Nurse, but that has changed under Darko Rajakovic, per Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. Flynn, who could be a restricted free agent in 2024 if the Raptors give him qualifying offer, admits he was pressing his first handful of games as a rotation regular, but Rajakovic’s patience in him appears to be paying off, Grange notes. “I think the first couple of games I was still kind of like hesitant, not being assertive,” Flynn said. “But I feel like the last maybe three or four games — and not even going off makes or misses, just going off how I’m feeling and how I’m playing — I think I’m a lot more comfortable and playing confident.”
- Sixers wing Kelly Oubre made a strong defensive impression in last night’s win over Detroit, limiting Cade Cunningham to a subpar second half after he started the game strong, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “That’s what I bring to the game,” Oubre said of his defense. “That’s my bread and butter, so just trying to impact the game, and Cade definitely got off to a good start. I started on Ausar [Thompson], but Coach made that change to start the second half. Me guarding Cade and just wanted to pick him up full court, kind of make him uncomfortable a little bit because he’s such a talented player.” Oubre will be a free agent again next summer after signing a one-year, minimum-salary deal with the 76ers.
Wizards’ Delon Wright To Miss 4-6 Weeks With Knee Sprain
Wizards guard Delon Wright is expected to be sidelined four-to-six weeks after sustaining a sprained medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his knee, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Washington announced that the the injury, which is to Wright’s left knee, occurred during a contact play in Friday’s loss to Charlotte. Wright’s injury will be treated “conservatively” and he will be reevaluated in three weeks (Twitter link).
It’s unfortunate news for both Wright and the Wizards, who will be without their top perimeter defender — and arguably the best defender on the team — for the foreseeable future. The nine-year veteran is averaging 5.0 PPG, 2.5 RPG and 1.6 SPG through eight games (17.6 MPG), dishing out 35 assists while only turning the ball over four times.
Washington’s defense is currently ranked 29th in the league, and having Wright out for an extended period won’t help matters. The 31-year-old is playing on an expiring $8.2MM contract, so it’s a tough blow on a personal level as well, because he’ll be an unrestricted free agent in 2024.
Wright, who missed a couple months last season due to a severe hamstring strain, put up solid numbers in 2022/23, averaging 7.4 PPG, 3.9 APG, 3.6 RPG and 1.8 SPG on .474/.345/.867 shooting in 50 games (24.4 MPG). However, individual statistics rarely tell the whole story — the Wizards were 26-24 in games Wright played last season, but went just 9-23 without him.
With Wright sidelined, fellow reserve guards like Landry Shamet, Johnny Davis and Ryan Rollins will have an opportunity to earn more minutes.
Blazers Convert Skylar Mays To Standard Contract
NOVEMBER 12: Mays’ promotion is official, the Blazers confirmed in a press release.
NOVEMBER 11: Trail Blazers guard Skylar Mays is receiving a promotion from his two-way deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that Mays will be converted to a standard contract.
Portland’s backcourt has been hit hard by injuries early on in 2023/24, with Scoot Henderson (ankle), Malcolm Brogdon (hamstring strain) and Anfernee Simons (thumb surgery) all missing time. In their stead, head coach Chauncey Billups turned to Mays on Wednesday at Sacramento and he played well, recording 18 points (on 8-of-15 shooting), 11 assists (against three turnovers) and two steals in 37 minutes of action.
As Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report observes (Twitter link), the Blazers have an open standard roster spot, so no corresponding move will be necessary to promote Mays. Converting him will make Mays eligible to appear in every game for Portland — players on two-way deals can only be active for up to 50 games, Highkin notes.
Mays, who played four years of college ball at LSU, was the 50th overall pick in the 2020 draft and spent his first two professional seasons with the Hawks. He was on two-way contracts until being promoted to Atlanta’s standard 15-man roster during the final week of the 2021/22 regular season.
The 26-year-old spent most of last season in the G League, but caught on with Portland at the end of ’22/23. He impressed the club in his six games, averaging 15.3 PPG on excellent .500/.462/.923 shooting splits, while also chipping in 8.3 APG, 3.2 RPG and 1.0 SPG. The Blazers signed him to a two-way deal on October 1.
Portland will reportedly use its newly created two-way opening to sign Jamaree Bouyea, as we detailed in a separate story.
Lakers Notes: Reaves, Reddish, LeBron, Davis, Hayes, Problems
The Lakers made a fairly surprising change to their starting lineup on Friday in Phoenix, with Cam Reddish replacing Austin Reaves at shooting guard. The news was first reported by Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
Reaves has had a slow start to the 2023/24 season, averaging 13.1 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 4.0 APG and 1.5 SPG while struggling with efficiency (2.6 turnovers and a .416/.278/.808 shooting line) through eight games (32.0 MPG). But Reddish isn’t exactly lighting the world on fire either, averaging 4.4 PPG, 2.5 RPG and 1.0 SPG on .306/.125/.786 shooting in 20.3 MPG.
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- LeBron James appeared to suffer a lower left leg injury in the first quarter on Friday, limping and exiting the contest following a spin move (Twitter link via Khobi Price of The Southern California News Group). ESPN has a video of the play (Twitter link), but it’s unclear what may have happened. While he missed the rest of the first quarter, James checked back into the game to open the second period, tweets ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk.
- On a brighter note, Anthony Davis (left adductor/hip spasm) and Jaxson Hayes (left ankle sprain) were both available on Friday, per Price (Twitter link). Davis wound up missing one full game and half of another, while Hayes was sidelined for two games.
- Injuries have been an issue for the 3-5 Lakers, with several rotation players missing time, including Jarred Vanderbilt (heel), who has yet to make his season debut. Following Wednesday’s blowout loss in Houston, which dropped the Lakers to 0-5 on the road, James said they lacked “cohesion,” according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “I mean, we can’t build cohesion if we don’t have our unit,” James said. “It’s that simple. It’s just, we’re very depleted on the injury side.”
- Still, as Jovan Buha of The Athletic writes, the team’s problems go beyond just injuries. L.A. has been historically inept in first quarters, posting a minus-74 point differential, the worst mark in league history through eight games. The Lakers have struggled with basic things like energy and effort, along with three-point shooting, rebounding and defense, says Buha.
Pacific Notes: Paul, Warriors, Ellis, Fox, Lyles, Kings
Logan Murdock of The Ringer takes an in-depth look at the Warriors‘ Chris Paul experiment, writing that the future Hall-of-Famer was eager to acclimate to his new team as soon as Golden State acquired him over the summer. The 38-year-old point guard is coming off the bench for the first time in his career, which he says is a work in progress.
“It’s figuring it out,” Paul told Murdock. “It’s going to be a process, but at the same time, you want to win in the process.”
According to Murdock, Paul’s first few months with the team have “brought harmony” to the Bay Area, as opposed to the poor locker-room chemistry of last season. Paul has been a connector both on and off the court, with several members of the organization showing appreciation for his leadership and elite basketball IQ.
“He connects all the lineups,” Stephen Curry told Murdock earlier this month. “He’s a gamer, a competitor, he lives and breathes basketball. And even at his age, he knows how to influence games with his brain and his IQ.”
Paul’s contract for 2024/25 is non-guaranteed, so his future with Warriors is uncertain. However, as Murdock writes, the 12-time All-Star has made an excellent first impression.
“It’s been cool, man,” Paul said. “In anything, as you get older, you learn things, you appreciate things more, and I think more than anything, we’re competitors before anything. So I’m excited to see what we all can do.”
Here’s more from the Pacific:
- The Warriors are tired of comparing this season’s team to the 2022/23 group, but Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic says it’s impossible not to notice the difference. Despite dropping Wednesday’s game to sit with a 6-3 record, Golden State battled the defending champion Nuggets to the wire in Denver, displaying a toughness that was often missing last season, Thompson writes. The Warriors have gone 5-2 on the road amid a tough early schedule, a “stark contrast” to the team’s 11-30 road record in ’22/23.
- Second-year guard Keon Ellis, who is on a two-way contract with the Kings, received his first career start in Wednesday’s victory over Portland, which snapped a three-game losing streak, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Ellis replaced former lottery pick Davion Mitchell in the starting lineup, with both players filling in for De’Aaron Fox, who continues to be sidelined with a right ankle sprain. Ellis will start again on Friday, tweets James Ham of ESPN 1320 and TheKingsBeat.com.
- Prior to Friday’s game against OKC, Kings head coach Mike Brown told reporters, including Ham (Twitter link), that Fox and Trey Lyles are making progress in their recoveries, but there’s no return timetable for either player. Lyles, who is battling a left calf strain, has yet to make his season debut.
Sixers Notes: Depth, Newcomers, Embiid, Maxey, Harden
The Sixers look like one of the league’s deepest teams and have a “different vibe” this season under new head coach Nick Nurse, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
“The other day at practice, we had three teams out, running through the plays,” Tobias Harris said. “We were on the sidelines, me, Joel [Embiid] and Tyrese [Maxey] were saying like we have 15 guys who can be in the rotation. With that means a lot of responsibility with guys just being professional and ready.”
As Pompey notes, newcomers Nicolas Batum and Robert Covington were in the rotation during Wednesday’s victory over Boston, with Batum part of the closing group.
Forward Marcus Morris, another newcomer acquired in the James Harden trade, has only played six minutes in one appearance this season. Nurse said he hopes to get a better look at the veteran forward (Twitter video link via Pompey).
“I want to see him, definitely,” Nurse said. “I still think he’s got a spot in the rotation. He of all the people has played the least, so it’s just a little trickier with him. Just kind of waiting for our moment to give him a chance and see how he looks out there.”
Here are a few more notes out of Philly:
- Gina Mizell of The Philadephia Inquirer (subscriber link) details how the four players acquired in the Harden deal — Batum, Covington, Morris and KJ Martin — have quickly acclimated to their new team. They’ve been going through film sessions, walk-throughs and scrimmages, with player development assistant Rico Hines leading the way. “It’s totally been a village in here,” Hines told Mizell, “with everybody helping [those players] get accustomed to whatever we’re trying to get accomplished. We’ve got a big picture in mind, and that’s what we’re trying to do. Just get a little better every day. Those guys see that. They feel that.”
- After the Sixers defeated Boston on Wednesday and claimed the top spot in the East, reigning MVP Joel Embiid said the team has “a long way to go” but is “on the right path,” writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “There’s so many things that could’ve been better today,” Embiid said. “Taking care of the ball. Missed quite a few shots. Tyrese, he missed a lot of shots that he’s been making. We were not as efficient as we’ve been. But it happens. But, then again, I also like the effort and the intensity defensively, just being together, following the game plan.”
- Maxey has repeatedly mentioned how much he appreciated James Harden as a mentor and teammate. Harden’s fondness for Maxey is quite evident as well, per Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. “He works extremely hard; good things are definitely going to come his way,” Harden said. “He listens, he puts the work in, as a young guy in this league that’s all you can ask for. As he gets more reps at that scoring, play-making role, he’ll figure things out, you know, in a good way, how different teams are gonna guard him. I’m extremely and overly proud of him; he gets an opportunity to showcase his game. … I know he’s gonna have a really good year.”