- An MRI conducted Friday on Nuggets‘ leading scorer Gary Harris showed he suffered a “sprain/strain” after landing awkwardly on his right leg, relays Gina Mizell of The Denver Post. Coach Michael Malone said Saturday that Harris could miss three or four games, but the team hopes to have him back before the end of its seven-game road trip.
- Despite his lack of playing time this season, Nuggets big man Kenneth Faried appears to be staying positive, per Gina Mizell of The Denver Post. Faried, who has been the subject of trade rumors for multiple seasons, will be entering the final year of his contract this offseason, so it will be interesting to see if he’s still on Denver’s roster six months from now.
- The Nuggets have struggled since offseason addition Paul Millsap made his return from an extended absence. Now the playoff hopeful club needs to figure out how to right the ship. “When a player of Paul Millsap’s magnitude misses 44 games and comes back with 22 games to go, that is a huge challenge,” head coach Michael Malone told Gina Mizell of The Denver Post. “Especially when the team was playing so well.“
Nikola Jokic‘s offensive production has dropped dramatically over the last three games, coinciding with the return of Paul Millsap from a wrist injury. Nuggets coach Michael Malone told reporters, including the Denver Post’s Gina Mizell, that his offense still revolves around his center. Jokic has averaged 12 PPG and while committing 12 turnovers over the last three games. “Nikola is still the focal point of our offense,” Malone said. “I don’t want Nikola thinking that he has to play second fiddle to anyone. … I want him to shoot the ball more and be more aggressive.”
- Millsap hasn’t played more than 27 minutes in his first three games back but Malone said his workload will increase very soon, Chris Dempsey of Nuggets.com tweets. Millsap scored 11 points in 26 minutes against the Cavaliers on Saturday.
While it remains to be seen whether the Rockets or Warriors will finish the season as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, there’s no risk of either team falling below No. 2. Houston currently has a half-game lead on the second-place Warriors and a 12-game lead on the third-place Timberwolves.
After the top two teams in the West though, things get very interesting. As of today, there are seven Western teams separated by just two games in the loss column, with the 10th-seeded Jazz hanging around the race too. Here’s a current snapshot of the standings in the West:
- Minnesota Timberwolves (38-27)
- Portland Trail Blazers (36-26)
- San Antonio Spurs (36-26)
- New Orleans Pelicans (35-26)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (36-27)
- Denver Nuggets (33-28)
- Los Angeles Clippers (32-28)
- Utah Jazz (31-30)
Several of these teams have lost key players via injury or trade this season. The Timberwolves are currently without Jimmy Butler; Kawhi Leonard has barely played for the Spurs; DeMarcus Cousins is out for the season for the Pelicans; the Thunder will be without Andre Roberson for the season; the Nuggets and Jazz have lost Paul Millsap and Rudy Gobert for big chunks of the season, though both are playing now; and, of course, the Clippers traded Blake Griffin before last month’s deadline.
Of the eight teams vying for the final six playoff spots in the West, only the Spurs (3-7) have a losing record in their last 10 games, with the Trail Blazers (five straight wins) and Pelicans (seven straight wins) among the hottest teams in the group. Still, things could change quickly. Two or three losses in a row could send a team sliding down the standings in the West.
These teams have between 17 and 22 games left in the regular season, so we’re entering the home stretch, and there will be a key matchup worth watching nearly every day. The next two nights, for instance, will pit the Timberwolves vs. the Jazz and the Thunder vs. the Trail Blazers.
What’s your take on the Western Conference playoff race? Which two teams will miss the postseason? Which two teams will gain home-court advantage by nabbing the third and fourth seeds? Which first-round matchups would you most like to see?
Jump into the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!
- With last night’s loss to the Clippers, the Nuggets have fallen to ninth place in the Western Conference, percentage points behind the Clippers, who now also own the the head-to-head tiebreaker between the two teams. Part of the problem recently is Denver’s defense, reports Gina Mizell of The Denver Post. Head coach Mike Malone is particularly frustrated, saying the recent struggles defensively have left him “questioning (his) whole being as a coach.”
- In brighter news for the Nuggets, forward Paul Millsap played last night for the first time since he injured his left wrist on Nov. 19.
The Grizzlies lost Mike Conley early in the season and started pointing toward next year before Christmas arrived. Rudy Gobert of the Jazz and Paul Millsap of the Nuggets both had time to heal before the stretch run. The Pelicans were able to deal for Nikola Mirotic when DeMarcus Cousins got injured. The Spurs have a successful foundation to fall back on without Kawhi Leonard.
- After climbing to sixth in the Western standings, the Nuggets face the challenge of incorporating two injured players back into their rotation, writes Nick Kosmider of The Denver Post. Mason Plumlee returned to the lineup Friday, and Millsap is expected back soon. “It’s just great to have those guys back,” said coach Michael Malone. “We’ll figure out who plays and when they play, but being healthy with 24 games to go [is] a good thing to be.”
Devin Harris is happy to have another shot at the postseason in Denver, relays Gina Mizell of The Denver Post. The veteran guard found his way back into the playoff race on Thursday when he was shipped from the Mavericks to the Nuggets in a three-team trade. Harris was preparing for a game at Golden State when he heard about the deal, then caught a flight to Dallas and then Phoenix to join his new team in time for Saturday’s game.
If Emmanuel Mudiay makes his Knicks debut today, he won’t have much preparation, writes Anthony Rieber of Newsday. Acquired Thursday from the Nuggets in a three-team trade, Mudiay wasn’t permitted to practice Saturday because the transaction wasn’t official. Devin Harris, who was sent to Denver in the deal, had yet to complete his physical. All coach Jeff Hornacek could do was talk to Mudiay, who is expected to suit up if the deal gets finalized before today’s 4:00 pm Central game in Indiana.
“Wish he could have been able to get out there and go through things, but he wasn’t allowed to,” Horacek said. “We’re going to have to continue to talk to him. Unfortunately, it’s an early game, so we won’t have a shootaround, but we’ll go over things with him on film. He was able to watch things, at least. I think he has a pretty good idea, so I don’t think it’ll take long for him to adjust.”
There’s more news out of New York:
- Mudiay’s addition to an already-crowded point guard situation will result in fewer minutes for some players, but Hornacek expects them to handle it like professionals, Rieber adds in the same story. The coach isn’t worried about a negative attitude from rookie Frank Ntilikina, who has watched the organization add four point guards since he was drafted with the No. 8 pick in June. “To me, mentally weak guys think that,” Hornacek said. “Mentally strong guys don’t think that. They say, ‘OK, bring on whoever. I don’t care.’ I can see that in Frank. He has that mentality.”
- Luke Kornet‘s impressive NBA debut made the decision to trade Willy Hernangomez easier to understand, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Kornet had 11 points and 10 rebounds in 22 minutes Friday and became the first player ever with four blocks and three 3-pointers in his first game. Kornet’s breakout performance makes it even more unlikely that Joakim Noah will return from his leave of absence this year, according to Berman, who adds that the Knicks tried to send the veteran center to Orlando in a deal for Elfrid Payton.
- Enes Kanter, who has a player option for next season worth more than $18.6MM, wants to spend the rest of his career in New York, relays Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Kanter said the city has a negative reputation in some NBA circles, but he believes in the front office led by president Steve Mills and GM Scott Perry. “I like this place, man,” Kanter said. “It’s weird because people are scared to come to New York because they think New York is scary, all these bad things but I think this organization is good, man. These guys, Scott and Steve, the coaches and everything. They are just making sure you got everything you need so you can just focus on basketball.”
7:51pm: The three-way trade is now official, according to press releases issued by the Knicks and Nuggets.
1:09pm: Denver, New York and Dallas have reached agreement on a three-team trade that will send Emmanuel Mudiay to the Knicks, Devin Harris to the Nuggets and Doug McDermott to the Mavericks, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
The deal also includes a swap of second-round picks, Woj adds, with Denver receiving the Clippers’ 2018 second-rounder from the Knicks. The Mavericks will be getting the Trail Blazers’ 2018 second-round pick from the Nuggets.
The Knicks are adding to their options at point guard by taking on Mudiay, who was the seventh player selected in the 2015 draft. He was given the starting spot as a rookie, but has drifted into a reserve role as shooting problems have slowed his progress. He joins 2017 first-rounder Frank Ntilikina in New York’s backcourt, along with veteran Jarrett Jack and Trey Burke. Mudiay is owed nearly $4.3MM for next season and is eligible for a rookie contract extension in the summer of 2019.
Harris, who will turn 35 later this month, brings a veteran presence to Denver’s backcourt for the rest of the season. He is averaging 8.5 points in 44 games and has an expiring contract worth a little more than $4.4MM.
McDermott, part of the package the Knicks received in exchange for Carmelo Anthony, averaged 7.2 points and shot .387 from 3-point range in 55 games for New York. This is the third trade in the past 12 months for McDermott, who will be a restricted free agent this summer.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.