Raptors Advance To NBA Cup Quarterfinals
The red-hot Raptors became the first team to advance to the NBA Cup quarterfinals after beating the lowly Wizards by 30 points on Friday, the league announced (via Twitter). Toronto has now won six straight games and is currently 11-5, while Washington holds the worst record in the NBA at 1-14.
As Eric Koreen of The Athletic writes, the Raptors secured the No. 1 seed in East Group A with their win and Cleveland’s victory over Indiana. Toronto previously defeated the Cavaliers and Hawks in group play and holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over both of those clubs.
The Raptors set a franchise record in the third quarter by scoring 48 points, Koreen notes, blowing the game open in the process. Brandon Ingram (24 points, eight rebounds, six assists), RJ Barrett (24 points, eight rebounds, four assists), Scottie Barnes (23 points, five rebounds, three steals), Sandro Mamukelashvili (23 points, seven rebounds in 21 minutes) and Immanuel Quickley (17 points, seven assists, zero turnovers) all had productive outings for Toronto.
“I think there’s a lot more to come … I’m getting comfortable being me,” said big man Mamukelashvili, a free agent addition over the summer (Twitter link via Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca).
Head coach Darko Rajakovic said the Raptors “have a mission and desire” to host a quarterfinal game with an opportunity to advance to the semifinals in Las Vegas, tweets Grange, and the team is in strong position to do so given its point differential (+53) and 3-0 record. Its last matchup of the group stage is against Indiana next Wednesday.
According to Grange (Twitter link), 13 of the 16 teams that advanced to the knockout stage over the past two years went on to make the playoffs, and the other three were at least involved in the play-in tournament. That could bode well for the Raptors, who haven’t made the postseason since 2021/22.
DeRozan, LaVine Discuss ‘Frustrations’ After Latest Loss
The Kings entered Thursday’s contest at Memphis on a seven-game losing streak, but there were reasons to believe the outcome might be different against the slumping Grizzlies, per Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee. The Kings had Keegan Murray making his season debut; Memphis was just the second team Sacramento has faced this season that had a losing record; and the Grizzlies were without Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr.
Instead, the Kings were humiliated on Thursday, extending their skid to eight games after being blown out by 41 points. All eight losses have come by double digits.
Veteran wing DeMar DeRozan attempted just three field goals and scored seven points yesterday, Biderman notes. The six-time All-Star is averaging 17.9 points per game, his lowest total in 13 seasons.
“In a s—ty place,” DeRozan said when asked about where his team is emotionally. “Don’t nobody want to lose the way we’ve been losing. I think it’s just everything right now for us is just s—ty, honestly. Sometimes when you’re in the deep end, it’s hard to hear anything. You’re just trying to swim your way out, one way or another.”
According to Biderman, DeRozan expressed uncertainty about his future with the Kings after their latest defeat. The 36-year-old is earning $24.6MM this season, but his $25.7MM salary for 2026/27 is only partially guaranteed (for $10MM).
“I’m pretty sure everything comes into question when you’re in the situation like we’re in now,” DeRozan said. “That’s another thing that’s frustrating. That’s another thing. Only time will tell. We’ll see.”
As Biderman writes, DeRozan isn’t the only highly-paid scorer on the roster who is unhappy with the team’s performance this season. Zach LaVine had a hot start to the season, averaging 29.5 points over his first five games, but had cooled off lately prior to putting up 26 points on Thursday. The two-time All-Star said the Kings are still trying to discover how to play together, but he knows he has to be aggressive to be successful.
“I’m not my best self when I take eight to 10 shots,” said LaVine, who attempted seven and 10 shots in the two games leading up to Thursday. “I can be as efficient as you want me to be. But if I’m taking eight shots, it’s like, what are we doing? So today I just tried to be a little more aggressive, try to find spots, my teammates (were trying) to find me, which was great.
“But obviously it didn’t result in anything like a win. I’d love to go 4-for-8 and we win. I scored a lot of points in my career. We’re just trying to get a win right now. Gotta go sit on this flight. Got a day tomorrow. Got a game Saturday. Come Saturday, gotta figure it out.
“Only time will tell. It’s hard to say right now. A lot of frustrations from a lot of angles. Still a lot of season left, still a lot that’s in front of us. We gotta fight for something.”
LaVine only played two combined minutes over the previous two fourth quarters heading into Thursday’s game, and both of those losses were within striking distance entering the final period. According to Biderman, the 30-year-old acknowledged he didn’t like being benched, but he recognizes head coach Doug Christie might need to shake things up to get different results.
“I’ll always be a team guy,” LaVine said. “(But) personally, I don’t like it. I’ve never not played in the fourth. But when you’re trying to find a win you do whatever you can, I guess.”
Blazers Announce Injury Updates On Henderson, Holiday
While third-year guard Scoot Henderson has made progress in his recovery from a torn left hamstring, he will be sidelined for at least two-to-four more weeks, which is when he’ll be reevaluated, the Trail Blazers announced in a press release.
The update on the former No. 3 overall pick was expected, as Henderson recently told Jason Quick of The Athletic that his return wasn’t imminent and his return to basketball activities was considered “week to week.” The 21-year-old point guard initially sustained the injury in late September during a workout before training camp.
Veteran guard Jrue Holiday, who was initially questionable for Friday’s contest at Golden State prior to being ruled out for his fourth straight game (Twitter link), will miss at least one more week with a right calf strain. According to the Blazers, the two-time All-Star will be checked out again in one-to-two weeks.
Holiday, a six-time All-Defensive member, was off to a solid start in his first season with Portland prior to the injury, averaging 16.7 points, 8.3 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals on .446/.365/.840 shooting in 12 games (33.4 minutes per contest).
While the press release doesn’t say anything about shooting guard Shaedon Sharpe, he will missed Friday’s game as well. It will be the high-flying Canadian’s second consecutive absence. Sharpe is, at least for now, considered day-to-day, writes Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report (Substack link).
The Trail Blazers have been hit hard by backcourt injuries this fall. Henderson has yet to play in 2025/26; Blake Wesley is expected to miss extended time after undergoing foot surgery earlier this month; Matisse Thybulle is three weeks removed from thumb surgery which was expected to sideline him for four-to-six weeks; and Damian Lillard is out for the season with a torn Achilles, though the front office knew that when it re-signed Portland’s all-time leading scorer.
After a 5-3 start, the Blazers have dropped six of their past seven games and are currently 6-9.
“It’s just part of the game,” acting head coach Tiago Splitter said earlier this week, per Highkin. “We’ve got to adapt a little bit, and we will. Find ways to win basketball games just like everybody else. You’ve seen all the guys that are out lately [around the NBA], and the teams that adapt better to those situations are the teams that do well. So that’s what we’ve got to do.”
Highkin takes a look at some options the team might consider in the wake of all the guard injuries, including applying for a hardship exception. It’s unclear if the Blazers would be granted the exception, Highkin notes, as it will depend on how much more time Thybulle is expected to miss.
Pistons’ Jaden Ivey Could Make Season Debut Saturday
Pistons guard Jaden Ivey has been listed as questionable for Saturday’s game in Milwaukee, tweets Hunter Patterson of The Athletic.
Ivey’s injury designation is “return to competition reconditioning,” which suggests he’s fully recovered from the right knee discomfort he experienced during the preseason. The former No. 5 overall pick underwent arthroscopic surgery on October 16 to address that knee pain.
As Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press notes (via Twitter), this is the first time Ivey has not been ruled out before a game this season.
Ivey, who will be a restricted free agent next summer, resumed on-court work last week and was assigned to the team’s G League affiliate (the Motor City Cruise) a few days ago with the goal of ramping up his conditioning.
The former Purdue star 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, then experienced the right knee issue — which the team said was unrelated to his broken left leg — this fall.
In 30 appearances last season, Ivey averaged 17.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 29.9 minutes per contest, posting a shooting slash line of .460/.409/.733. The 40.9% mark from long distance was a career-best percentage by a significant margin.
Despite multiple key rotation players missing time early on this season, the Pistons have had a terrific start to the 2025/26 campaign. They’ve won 11 straight games and hold the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a 13-2 record.
Veteran forward Tobias Harris, who has missed the past nine games with a high right ankle sprain, is also questionable for tomorrow’s matchup at the Bucks.
Hornets’ Brandon Miller To Return Saturday
Former No. 2 overall pick Brandon Miller, who has missed the past 13 games (and most of a 14th) with a partially dislocated left shoulder, is not on the Hornets‘ injury report (Twitter link) ahead of Saturday’s contest against the Clippers, which means he has been cleared to return to action.
Miller sustained a left shoulder subluxation in the second quarter of Charlotte’s second game of the season after a solid opener in which he recorded 25 points and seven assists. he made 74 appearances as a rookie, but was limited to just 27 games last season due a right wrist injury, which required surgery.
Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer reported that the injury occurred when Miller slipped while trying to fight through a screen. The guard/forward resumed basketball activities on Monday and practiced with the Hornets’ G League club, the Greensboro Swarm.
Miller, who turns 23 years old on Saturday, holds career averages of 18.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists on .428/.364/.832 shooting splits over 103 NBA appearances (32.5 minutes per game). He’s considered an important part of Charlotte’s core and will be eligible for a rookie scale extension in the 2026 offseason.
Fifth-year guard Tre Mann, who has gotten off to a slow start this fall, exited Monday’s game with left ankle soreness and then missed Wednesday’s loss in Indiana. Mann is questionable to suit up tomorrow, per the Hornets.
After a 2-1 start, the Hornets have dropped 10 of their past 12 games. They’re currently 4-11, the No. 12 seed in the East.
Mavs Rumors: Davis, Irving, Gafford, Lively, Front Office
Despite minority owner Mark Cuban‘s public statements to the contrary, multiple reporters have heard the Mavericks will explore the trade market for star big man Anthony Davis before the deadline in February.
Marc Stein reports at Substack that Dallas plans to take “any” incoming trade calls on Davis in the coming months, though a deal actually materializing will depend on the quality of potential offers. Davis has a lengthy injury history, Stein notes, and is currently sidelined by a calf strain.
Team sources who spoke to Christian Clark of The Athletic say the Mavs plan to be “opportunistic in pursuing any scenario that strengthens the roster” around Cooper Flagg. Those same sources also insisted Dallas is still in “information-gathering mode” as the team weighs its options for the future.
Here are a few more rumors on the Mavericks:
- According to Stein’s sources, Dallas isn’t looking to solicit offers for Kyrie Irving and would like to retain the nine-time All-Star, who is out indefinitely with a torn ACL. However, Stein points out that the Mavs lack future first-round picks, and suggests their stance on Irving might change if they receive an offer that’s too good to pass up.
- Stein continues to hear center Daniel Gafford would have several suitors if the Mavericks put him on the trade market. The athletic big man has been rounding into form after his season debut was delayed by a right ankle sprain, having averaged 13.0 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.3 blocks over his last four games (27.0 minutes per contest).
- In his latest Bleacher Report live stream (YouTube link), NBA insider Jake Fischer said he thinks the Mavs aren’t going to just sell off players to the highest bidders if their values are at a relative low point due to injuries. He made the comment in passing, but Fischer doesn’t expect Dereck Lively II to be among the players on the trading block.
- Both Stein and Clark report that governor Patrick Dumont doesn’t feel a sense of urgency to begin a formal search for a new head of basketball operations after dismissing Nico Harrison. “The timeline won’t determine the hire. The qualifications will determine the hire,” one source familiar with ownership’s thinking told The Athletic. According to Clark, the Mavs are seeking “calmness and stability” from whomever gets selected to run the front office. Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley are currently serving as co-interim general managers.
Fischer: Hornets ‘Not Actively Looking To Move’ LaMelo Ball
Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports reported on Thursday that LaMelo Ball has become “increasingly frustrated” with the Hornets and is open being traded to a new team. Iko, citing league sources, also wrote that Charlotte’s front office had grown “disillusioned” with the star point guard and was open to a deal as well.
NBA insider Jake Fischer has heard differently. In his latest Bleacher Report live stream (YouTube link), Fischer said he made several calls on Thursday regarding Ball’s situation with the Hornets, and while rival teams are “hoping” and “preparing” as though the 23-year-old may become available prior to the February 5 deadline, that is not currently the case.
“I can tell you with absolute certainty that the Hornets are not actively looking to move LaMelo Ball any time soon,” Fischer reported.
Fischer went on to say that several key members of the organization — including Ball, coaches and front office executives — want to get a better idea of what the team looks like when Brandon Miller returns to action before making any type of drastic changes.
“LaMelo Ball is not asking out, to my understanding,” Fischer said. “And the Hornets are not actively looking to trade him by any stretch right now.”
According to Fischer, Ball isn’t the only former All-Star point guard that rival teams are monitoring: Ja Morant of the Grizzlies and Trae Young of the Hawks — both of whom are injured at the moment — fall into that category as well.
Fischer’s Stein Line colleague Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack story that the Hornets, Grizzlies and Hawks have each denied that they’re willing to listen to offers for their maximum-salary guards. Yet Stein also hears rival clubs are skeptical of that posturing and think that Ball, Morant and/or Young could indeed be on the market in the coming months.
Butler Trying To Bridge Gap Between Kuminga, Warriors
After a lengthy contract standoff over the offseason resulted in Jonathan Kuminga re-signing with the Warriors on a two-year, $46.8MM deal, the fifth-year forward helped the team get off to a strong start this fall, with Golden State going 4-1 over its first five games.
Kuminga, who was in the starting lineup for all five of those games, was named a full-time starter by head coach Steve Kerr in late October. Yet after the Warriors struggled over their next seven contests — they went 2-5 over that span — Kerr pulled Kuminga from the starting lineup, a demotion the former lottery pick took hard, according to Anthony Slater of ESPN.
“He feels like the scapegoat again,” one team source told ESPN.
There is lingering tension between the two sides following their “contentious” restricted free agency negotiations, Slater writes, but the Warriors still believe they need Kuminga to play an important role to hit their ceiling in 2025/26, even if the relationship doesn’t last beyond the February 5 trade deadline. According to Slater, several members of the organization as well as people close to Kuminga believe Jimmy Butler has the best chance of salvaging a situation that has long been on shaky ground.
“I feel like, in this league, he’s one of the people that actually [has] been in my shoes throughout their career,” Kuminga said. “And knows what I’ve been going through.”
As Slater details, Butler has befriended Kuminga and has been working with him to try and maximize his considerable talent. He also sees a little bit of himself in his younger teammate.
“I think everybody comes to that steppingstone moment in their career where you know that you can get over that hump,” Butler said. “Some people are like, ‘Nah, you’re not ready for that yet.’ But you know better. I think that’s where he is. I was at that point [with Chicago].”
While Butler refers to himself as Kuminga’s “No. 1” fan, he says he’s not in the 23-year-old’s corner just to tell him what he wants to hear.
“I realize that he listens to me,” Butler said, per Slater. “He respects me. And I don’t ever take that for granted. But I’m always going to tell him the truth, too. And when JK doing some bulls–t, I’m going to tell him we can’t have that, man.”
Slater’s story features several more interesting details and quotes and is worth checking out in full.
Kuminga, who has been battling knee tendinitis in recent weeks, will miss his fifth straight game on Friday, Slater tweets.
Injury Notes: Leonard, Jerome, Murray-Boyles, Heat, Cavs
Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard went through portions of Wednesday’s practice, though he didn’t do any contact drills, head coach Tyronn Lue told Law Murray of The Athletic and other media members (Twitter video link).
“He did a few things,” Lue said. ” … He’s definitely gotten better. I mean, I don’t know how long it’s gonna be (until he returns). But he’s definitely gotten better. Just seeing him on the floor yesterday was really good to see.”
Leonard, a two-time Finals MVP, was off to a strong start this fall prior to suffering right ankle and foot sprains on November 3. The Clips were 3-3 in the six games Leonard played but have gone just 1-7 without their highest-paid player. The 34-year-old missed his ninth straight game on Thursday in Orlando.
Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:
- Free agent addition Ty Jerome has yet to play for the Grizzlies in 2025/26 after suffering a high-grade right calf strain during the preseason. The seventh-year guard will be reevaluated on Friday, with a return timeline expected to come in the days after that examination, tweets Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal.
- Collin Murray-Boyles, the No. 9 overall pick in the 2025 draft, will miss his second straight game on Friday due to an MCL sprain in his right knee, as Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca relays (via Twitter). The Raptors forward/center has averaged 8.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in 20.0 minutes per game through 11 appearances as a rookie, with a shooting line of .500/.500/.762.
- Heat forward Andrew Wiggins has been diagnosed with a left hip flexor strain and will be sidelined for his first game of the season on Friday in Chicago, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Fourth-year forward Nikola Jovic was ruled out of Wednesday’s game with a right hip impingement and will miss at least two more, as he didn’t travel with the team on its two-game road trip, Jackson reports.
- While Cavaliers sharpshooter Sam Merrill will be out for the second straight contest on Friday with a right hand sprain, it’s possible point guard Darius Garland could return to action. The two-time All-Star is questionable against Indiana, per the NBA’s injury report, as are Jarrett Allen (right third finger strain) and Jaylon Tyson (concussion). Garland has missed the past five games after re-injuring his surgically repaired left great toe last week, but head coach Kenny Atkinson recently said the 25-year-old was “really close” to suiting up.
Domantas Sabonis Out At Least 3-4 Weeks With Torn Meniscus
Kings center Domantas Sabonis has been diagnosed with a partially torn meniscus in his left knee and will be sidelined for at least three-to-four weeks, which is when he’ll be reexamined, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports (story via ESPN’s Anthony Slater).
The Kings formally confirmed the news in a press release. According to the team, Sabonis experienced knee soreness after Sunday’s game in San Antonio and subsequently underwent an MRI, which revealed the meniscus tear.
It’s brutal timing for the Kings, who will get starting forward Keegan Murray back on Thursday after he missed the first 15 games of the season following thumb surgery.
As Slater observes, Sabonis has dealt with multiple injuries this fall, having previously missed three games due to hamstring and rib issues. The three-time All-Star was sidelined for Wednesday’s loss in Oklahoma City as well.
The 3-12 Kings are in a tailspin, having lost seven straight games for the first time since 2021/22, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. All seven losses have come by double digits, Slater notes.
Despite another loss on Wednesday, head coach Doug Christie came away encouraged by the Kings’ effort level, according to Anderson.
“The level of compete the guys brought I thought was really, really high level,” Christie said. “That’s what we need to get ourselves out of where we’re at, and if we do that on a night-to-night basis, most nights in the NBA you give yourselves a chance to win. This was the world champs and there were eight, nine minutes left, and they found themselves right there.”
With Sabonis out for at least 10 games, Precious Achiuwa, Drew Eubanks and Maxime Raynaud are among the frontcourt members who could have expanded roles for Sacramento.