Zion Williamson Wouldn’t Be Ready For First-Round Series
The Pelicans won’t have Zion Williamson available if they advance to Friday’s play-in game or even a first-round series against the Suns, the team told Cassidy Hubbarth of ESPN (hat tip to RealGM).
Williamson hasn’t been ruled out for the season, but a Pelicans spokesperson informed Hubbarth that “a return to play is not imminent.”
Williamson, who hasn’t played since having offseason surgery on a fracture in his right foot, raised some eyebrows with a 360 dunk during warm-ups before tonight’s game (video link). Although he looked as explosive as ever, the Pelicans don’t believe he’s ready for game action.
The No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft has advanced to the point in rehab where he can participate in controlled scrimmages with teammates and assistant coaches. There has been hope among Pelicans fans that he could return to boost the team’s playoff chances, but tonight’s report makes that seem unlikely unless New Orleans can somehow win a series or two.
Luka Doncic May Not Be Ready For Playoff Opener
There’s “a lot of skepticism” that Mavericks star Luka Doncic will be available for Game 1 of their playoff series with the Jazz, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said tonight on “NBA Countdown” (video link).
Doncic suffered a strained left calf Sunday in Dallas’ final regular season game. The Mavericks aren’t required to submit an injury report until Friday, so there may be no official word until then, but Wojnarowski said the outlook seems pessimistic that Doncic will play in the Saturday afternoon game.
Sources tell Wojnarowski that Doncic’s injury is “more than just a mild calf strain.” He’s expected to do everything be can to be ready, but Woj cautions that it’s the type of injury that can be aggravated if it’s not fully healed.
He adds that Dallas is facing the possibility that Doncic may miss Monday night’s Game 2 as well.
“If this was the regular season, you wouldn’t even be talking about him possibly playing this weekend,” Wojnarowski said, while adding that he expects a final decision on Doncic’s availability for Game 1 to go “down to the wire” Friday or Saturday.
The Mavericks and Jazz will have two days off after Game 2, so Doncic will have a cushion to recover before the series shifts to Utah. Any games that Doncic misses could have a profound impact on the series, as he put up All-Star numbers again this season, averaging 28.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 8.7 assists in 65 games.
Bennedict Mathurin Enters NBA Draft
Projected lottery pick Bennedict Mathurin has announced on Twitter that he will leave Arizona and declare for the NBA draft.
The 19-year-old sophomore earned Pac 12 Player of the Year honors and was a second team all-American selection this season. He averaged 17.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 37 games and helped lead the Wildcats to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Mathurin is ranked 11th overall and is the second-best small forward on ESPN’s big board. He developed into an explosive scorer and a floor spacer during his second collegiate season, shooting 47.1% from the field and 41.8% from three-point range.
“I would like to thank my family and friends for supporting me through my career at Arizona,” Mathurin wrote in his announcement. “The city of Tucson has been great to me and the best fan base in the world has welcomed me with open arms. … It has always been a dream of mine to play in the NBA and I am ready to take that step forward.”
Nuggets’ Facundo Campazzo Suspended For Game 1
Nuggets guard Facundo Campazzo will be ineligible to suit up for Game 1 of the team’s series against Golden State this Saturday, having been suspended for one game by the NBA, the league announced today in a press release (Twitter link).
Campazzo was hit with a one-game suspension for “forcefully shoving” Lakers guard Wayne Ellington in Sunday’s regular season finale, according to the NBA. Ellington received a $20K fine for escalating the incident by making a “threatening comment” on Twitter after the game.
A video of the incident can be viewed right here.
Campazzo is the second Nugget to receive a one-game suspension this season for shoving a player who had his back turned. Fortunately, Ellington wasn’t injured like Heat forward Markieff Morris was when he was hit from behind by Nikola Jokic in November.
Campazzo was a significant part of Denver’s rotation earlier in the season, but hasn’t played regular minutes in recent weeks, so his absence shouldn’t have a huge impact on the Nuggets, who will be relying more on guards like Monte Morris and Bones Hyland.
The one-game ban will cost Campazzo $20,517, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
Stephen Curry’s Status For Start Of Playoffs Still Uncertain
Warriors star Stephen Curry continues to make “good progress” in his recovery from a left foot sprain and bone bruise, the team announced today in a press release.
According to the Warriors’ announcement, Curry progressed last week to various individual on-court activities, including shooting and running, and may take part in full team practices this week. His status for Game 1 of Golden State’s first round series vs. Denver this weekend remains up in the air, according to the club.
Curry, who suffered the injury on March 16 vs. Boston, missed the regular season and has long been targeting the start of the playoffs for his return. One source tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link) that Curry’s availability for Game 1 on Saturday remains a “close call.”
Speaking today to reporters, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr referred to Curry as “literally day to day” (Twitter link via Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated). Kerr said it’s “essential” that Curry scrimmages at least once before returning to action, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link). The team will scrimmage on Thursday.
If Curry remains sidelined for the start of the Denver series, the Warriors will continue to lean more heavily on Draymond Green and Jordan Poole for play-making, with Poole, Klay Thompson, and Andrew Wiggins shouldering more of the scoring load.
Monty Williams Wins Coaches Association Award
Suns head coach Monty Williams has won the Michael H. Goldberg award for the 2021/22 season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. It’s the second consecutive year in which Williams has been named the National Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year.
This award, introduced in 2017 and named after longtime NBCA executive director Michael H. Goldberg, is voted on by the NBA’s 30 head coaches, none of whom can vote for himself. However, it isn’t the NBA’s official Coach of the Year award, which is voted on by media members and is represented by the Red Auerbach Trophy. The winner of that award will be announced later in the year.
Williams led the Suns to an NBA-best 64-18 record this season, despite missing All-Star point guard Chris Paul for an extended stretch in the second half. Phoenix finished the year ranked in the top five in both offensive and defensive rating — the team’s +7.5 net rating was the league’s best mark.
A year ago, Williams won the Coaches Association’s award and then finished second to Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau for the official Coach of the Year award. This season, Williams will face stiff competition for the Red Auerbach Trophy from Taylor Jenkins, Erik Spoelstra, Ime Udoka, and J.B. Bickerstaff, among others.
According to Wojnarowski, Jenkins (Grizzlies), Spoelstra (Heat), Willie Green (Pelicans), Tyronn Lue (Clippers), and Gregg Popovich (Spurs) were among the other coaches who received votes for this season’s Michael H. Goldberg award.
Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo Named Players Of The Month
Two of the top contenders for this season’s Most Valuable Player award have been named the NBA’s Players of the Month for March/April.
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic earned Player of the Month honors in the West, while Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was named the Player of the Month for the East, the league announced (via Twitter).
Jokic, who appeared in 19 games in March and April, capped off an MVP-caliber season by averaging 31.6 PPG, 13.7 RPG, 7.5 APG, 1.8 SPG, and 1.3 BPG in 34.9 MPG across those 19 appearances, shooting 63.6% from the field. Denver had an 11-8 record in the games Jokic played.
Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, led the Bucks to a 13-3 record in his 16 games in March and April. In 33.5 minutes per contest, he averaged 31.5 points, 12.3 reobunds, 5.0 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.2 blocks with a .579 FG%. The team went 1-3 in March and April when Giannis was unavailable.
Jokic is the only Western Conference player to have won two Player of the Month awards this season — he also earned the honor in January. In the East, Antetokounmpo joins Joel Embiid (twice), Kevin Durant, and DeMar DeRozan as this season’s Players of the Month.
The other nominees for March/April were Devin Booker, Luka Doncic, Dejounte Murray, Jordan Poole, and Karl-Anthony Towns in the West, along with Embiid, Durant, LaMelo Ball, Darius Garland, Pascal Siakam, Jayson Tatum, and Trae Young in the East (Twitter link).
Derrick Favors Plans To Pick Up Player Option
Thunder big man Derrick Favors expects to exercise his player option for 2022/23 and to be back in Oklahoma City next season, he said today (Twitter link via Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman).
The three-year deal Favors signed with Utah in 2020 included two guaranteed years and a $10.18MM option for ’22/23. The veteran center was traded from the Jazz to the Thunder during the 2021 offseason and didn’t play a ton for his new team this season, averaging a modest 16.7 minutes per game in 39 appearances. His season came to an early end due to a back issue.
Favors averaged 5.3 PPG and 4.7 RPG in his part-time role for Oklahoma City in 2021/22. Although he’s still a solid rebounder and can score around the basket, the 30-year-old didn’t have much of a role on a rebuilding Thunder team that was more focused on developing its young players.
Once he officially picks up his player option, Favors should be viewed as a trade candidate, since he’ll be on an expiring deal and likely isn’t part of OKC’s long-term plans. However, his $10MM+ salary may be more than some teams are comfortable paying a backup center.
Luka Doncic Suffers Calf Strain In Mavs’ Regular Season Finale
APRIL 11: An MRI confirmed Doncic’s calf strain, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets. The Mavs have not set a timetable for his return and won’t be obligated to provide an update on Doncic’s status for Game 1 until later in the week.
APRIL 10: Star guard Luka Doncic left the Mavericks‘ regular season finale vs. San Antonio on Sunday in the third quarter due to what the team is calling a left calf strain (Twitter link). Doncic limped to the locker room after sustaining the injury and was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game.
It’s certainly not great timing for Doncic and the Mavericks, who have earned the No. 4 seed in the West and are looking to make a deep playoff run this spring.
As Jeff Stotts of In Street Clothes observes (via Twitter), calf strains can result in a wide range of recovery timelines depending on the severity and the location. On average, a player who sustained the injury this season was out for 16 days, per Stotts, but some players returned much quicker than that.
One factor working in Doncic’s favor is that Dallas’ first-round series won’t tip off until Saturday, so he’ll have the better part of a week to try to get healthy. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), there’s initial optimism that the All-NBA guard hasn’t suffered a significant injury.
It looked earlier this weekend as if Doncic wouldn’t even be active for the Mavs’ regular season finale, since he was assessed with his 16th technical foul on Friday night, which would have triggered an automatic one-game suspension. However, the NBA rescinded that technical on Saturday, allowing Doncic to suit up on Sunday.
If Doncic has to miss any playoff games, the Mavs would lean more heavily on point guards Jalen Brunson and Spencer Dinwiddie for scoring and play-making.
Lakers’ Kendrick Nunn To Exercise Player Option
Lakers guard Kendrick Nunn says it’s a “no-brainer” that he’ll opt in to the final year of his contract, Bill Oram of The Athletic tweets.
Nunn has a $5.25MM player option for 2022/23. He signed a two-year contract as a free agent last summer but didn’t appear in any games this season, mainly due to a knee injury.
Nunn deemed his right knee bone bruise “extremely frustrating” and didn’t anticipate he would need a full season to recover, Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register tweets. He says he’s feeling much better and expects to be completely healthy for training camp.
Nunn was a productive rotation player for Miami the last two seasons. A year ago, he averaged 14.6 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 2.6 APG in 29.5 MPG in 56 regular season games.
Nunn is just one of five Lakers players with a guaranteed contract for next season. Along with the Big Three of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook, Talen Horton-Tucker is the only other player who isn’t a free agent this summer or will have to sweat a team option. Westbrook holds an option of $47MM on his contract which he’ll undoubtedly exercise.