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Cavaliers Become First Team To Clinch Playoff Berth

March 6th, 2025 at 7:34am CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers clinched a top-six spot in the Eastern Conference on Wednesday with a 112-107 win over the Heat (Twitter link). Even if Cleveland loses all of its remaining 20 games, the club would be guaranteed a playoff spot.

While the Cavs were projected to be a playoff team in the East this season, no one expected them to be quite this good. As Joe Vardon of The Athletic writes, their 52-10 record is the best in franchise history through 62 games and they’re one of two teams in NBA history to register three separate winning streaks of at least 12 games in a single season, joining the 2006/07 Mavericks.

The Cavaliers, who have held the East’s No. 1 seed since October 30, opened the season with 15 consecutive wins. They also won 12 in a row from December 13 to January 9 and are currently riding another 12-game winning streak, which they’ll look to extend on Friday in Charlotte.

“Everything’s kind of gone our way, right?” head coach Kenny Atkinson said on Wednesday. “We have great talent, great continuity, great togetherness. … There’s luck when you do that. There has to be because it’s so hard to win in the NBA. It’s special. It’s really special. We know what we’re going to be judged on, but we enjoy this.”

Although the Cavaliers are now assured of a playoff spot, they’ve maintained the same message all season after being eliminated in the second round of the 2024 postseason: their goal is a championship, not just regular season success.

“This was an expectation,” Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell said of clinching a playoff spot, per Vardon. “Is it great that we did it in March? Yeah, but this is the bare minimum for us.”

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Jason Kidd: Kyrie Irving’s Injury Was ‘Freak Accident’

March 5th, 2025 at 11:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kyrie Irving had been taking on a larger workload since Luka Doncic was injured on Christmas Day and ultimately traded, so there was speculation that the increased stress on his body contributed to the season-ending ACL tear he suffered Monday night. Mavericks coach Jason Kidd strongly disagreed with that theory during a session with reporters prior to Wednesday’s game at Milwaukee, according to Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News.

“The load didn’t have anything to do with the injury,” Kidd said. “We’re talking about one play. It’s a freak accident. That’s how it should be reported, but we’re not reporting it right. We’re reporting on conspiracy theories.

“We want our stars to play as many minutes [as possible],” Kidd continued. “This isn’t supposed to be a ‘rest’ league. Kai is our leader. Kai was playing [high] minutes. He also was playing at a high level, maybe some of the best basketball that he’s played in his career. And it’s all right to play 40 minutes. We can’t talk from both sides and say that our stars don’t play enough minutes or guys don’t play enough.”

The “freak accident” that Kidd referenced came in the first quarter of Monday’s game against Sacramento when Irving tried to split defenders DeMar DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas. He landed awkwardly on his left leg before falling to the ground and grabbing his knee. He was fouled on the play and managed to make two free throws before being helped to the locker room.

With only eight healthy players on the roster, Dallas lost by 30 points to the Bucks after falling by 24 points against the Kings. The Mavericks are now 32-31, and their hold on the West’s final play-in spot looks increasingly shaky.

Kidd added that Irving embraced the idea of taking on extra minutes in light of the injuries.

“He’s well conditioned and he invited that,” Kidd said. “He wanted that. Are we reporting that? No, we’re not reporting that. We’re reporting that we’re running someone into the ground. That’s not true. That’s his job, it’s to play. He loves to play. It’s all right to play 40 minutes at the age of 32 in a month’s span. This isn’t the whole season.”

Irving certainly seemed capable of handling the increased minutes, averaging 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 50 games this season. He made his ninth All-Star appearance last month and has rehabilitated his image after a series of controversial incidents in Brooklyn.

That was among the points Bucks coach Doc Rivers made in his pregame press conference, Curtis adds in a separate story.

“Kyrie’s a massive loss,” Rivers said. “I feel awful about that. He’s done a lot for Dallas, the team. He has really changed the perception of him. He’s always been one of the more likable guys in the league. Always the first to talk to the other players. Just watching [the injury] was sad, watching him shoot free throws. … Just a tough blow.”

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Clippers’ Powell Out At Least 10 Days With Hamstring Strain

March 5th, 2025 at 2:29pm CST by Luke Adams

After missing five games due to a left knee injury (patellar tendinopathy), Clippers wing Norman Powell lasted just nine minutes in his return on Sunday before exiting the game due to a right leg injury.

As Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints tweets, Powell has been diagnosed with a hamstring strain and will be reevaluated in 10 days, according to the Clippers.

The team technically made that announcement on Tuesday night, so Powell’s evaluation date is set for March 14. Even if he’s able to return to action that night, he’ll have missed at least six games due to the injury, including yesterday’s loss to Phoenix.

Powell has had a career year in Los Angeles in 2024/25, with averages of 23.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game and a .494/.424/.821 shooting line across 46 outings (33.0 MPG).

However, injuries have impacted his availability in recent weeks and it’s hurting the Clippers, who have gone just 1-6 since the All-Star break and now sit ninth in the Western Conference at 32-29 after having held a top-six seed for most of the season.

Powell’s latest injury will also make him ineligible for Most Improved Player consideration. He had been one of the leading candidates for the award, but will no longer be able to meet the 65-game minimum necessary to qualify.

Newcomers Bogdan Bogdanovic and Ben Simmons have played regular rotation roles with Powell sidelined, while Kawhi Leonard, Kris Dunn, and Amir Coffey have all seen minute bumps.

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NBA’s Two-Way Signing Deadline Has Now Passed

March 5th, 2025 at 7:03am CST by Luke Adams

The deadline for NBA teams to sign players to two-way contracts was Tuesday, March 4. Since that deadline has now passed, no two-way deals can be signed between now and the end of the 2024/25 league year. Clubs will be permitted to begin signing two-way contracts for the ’25/26 season on July 1.

Under the NBA’s previous Collective Bargaining Agreement, two-way signings weren’t permitted after January 15. Teams took advantage of the extended window to complete two-way deals this season, finalizing 30 of them between the February 6 trade deadline and Tuesday’s deadline. During that same period, teams promoted 16 players from two-way contracts to standard deals and made two waiver claims on two-way players.

There were nine teams – the Nuggets, Pistons, Pacers, Grizzlies, Heat, Suns, Kings, Spurs, and Jazz – that didn’t make any moves involving their two-way players between last month’s trade deadline and the two-way signing deadline. The other 21 clubs were active.

As our tracker shows, all 90 two-way slots around the NBA are now filled. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean the 90 players currently on two-way contracts will all finish the season on those deals.

There are still a handful of two-way players who could receive standard contracts before the regular season ends. The Lakers, for instance, will likely consider promoting Jordan Goodwin and/or Trey Jemison to their standard roster in order to make them playoff-eligible.

A team can promote one or more of its two-way players to its standard roster at any time between now and the end of the season — that team simply wouldn’t be permitted to sign a new player to fill the empty two-way slot created by the promotion.

Here are all the transactions related to two-way players that have been finalized since the trade deadline, sorted by team and listed in the order they were completed (from earliest to most recent):

Atlanta Hawks

Boston Celtics

Brooklyn Nets

Charlotte Hornets

Chicago Bulls

Cleveland Cavaliers

Dallas Mavericks

Golden State Warriors

Houston Rockets

Los Angeles Clippers

Los Angeles Lakers

Milwaukee Bucks

Minnesota Timberwolves

New Orleans Pelicans

New York Knicks

Oklahoma City Thunder

Orlando Magic

Philadelphia 76ers

Portland Trail Blazers

Toronto Raptors

Washington Wizards

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Jaren Jackson Jr. ‘Week To Week’ With Ankle Sprain

March 4th, 2025 at 6:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Grizzlies star big man Jaren Jackson Jr. has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 left ankle sprain, the team’s PR department tweets.

Jackson suffered the injury during the first quarter against the Hawks on Monday. He is considered week-to-week, the team adds.

This could impact the Grizzlies’ playoff position. They’re currently in fourth place in the Western Conference, one game ahead of Houston. They have a 5 1/2-game cushion on the teams currently sitting in the top three play-in spots.

However, the team’s other star, guard Ja Morant, is also currently sidelined with shoulder soreness. On Monday, coach Taylor Jenkins expressed optimism that Morant would return soon.

“I don’t think there’s any long-term concern. It’s just some day-to-day soreness that he’s been navigating,” he said. “Not feeling comfortable with how the arms been raising after taking a hit or two over the course of the last couple of weeks. He’s been playing through it, and obviously, I think it’s just more of a short-term situation.”

Jackson is averaging 22.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.3 steals in 29.4 minutes per game. The forward/center has appeared in 59 games and needs to see action in six more to qualify for NBA postseason awards. He’d have to return by early April to make that happen — Memphis has seven games in April before the postseason begins.

With Victor Wembanyama out for the season, Jackson is considered a top candidate for the Defensive Player of the Year award. That has major implications in terms of Jackson’s future earnings.

As we recently detailed, if Jackson wins the DPOY award this season, he’d become eligible for a super-max contract extension, starting at up to 35% of the 2026/27 salary cap.

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Nuggets’ Strawther Out At Least Four Weeks With Sprained Knee

March 4th, 2025 at 2:26pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nuggets have ruled out a key reserve for the rest of March, announcing today (via Twitter) that second-year wing Julian Strawther has been diagnosed with a left knee sprain and will be reevaluated in four weeks.

The injury occurred in the third quarter of Sunday’s game in Boston. Strawther caught a pass from Christian Braun at the top of the three-point arc and drove toward the basket, but after he attempted a floater in the lane, he came up limping and fell to the floor in pain (video link).

After averaging just 10.9 minutes per game in 50 appearances off the bench for Denver as a rookie last season, Strawther had emerged as a crucial part of the team’s rotation in 2024/25. He appeared in each of the Nuggets’ first 61 games this season, averaging 9.4 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 22.1 minutes per night, with a .434/.357/.829 shooting line.

As Bennett Durando of The Denver Post notes (via Twitter), another 2023 draftee – shooting guard Jalen Pickett – may be in line for an increased role while Strawther is unavailable. Pickett has been in and out of the rotation this season and didn’t play at all in the first half on Sunday, but checked in when Strawther went down and played eight minutes in the second half.

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LeBron James, Donovan Mitchell Named Players Of The Month

March 4th, 2025 at 1:47pm CST by Luke Adams

Lakers forward LeBron James has been named the Western Conference’s Player of the Month for games played in February, the NBA announced today (via Twitter). While it’s the 41st time in his decorated 22-year NBA career that James has earned the honor, it’s the first time he has done so since 2020.

James’ Lakers went 10-2 in February, with the four-time MVP averaging 29.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 6.9 assists in 35.1 minutes per game to lead the way. The 40-year-old posted an impressive shooting line of .555/.443/.738 in his 11 games over the course of the month.

James’ teammate Austin Reaves was among the other players nominated for the award in the West, along with Stephen Curry, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jaren Jackson Jr., Nikola Jokic, and Anfernee Simons, according to the league (Twitter link).

Meanwhile, in the Eastern Conference, Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell has earned February’s Player of the Month award. He was selected over fellow nominees Cade Cunningham, Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum, Pascal Siakam, Tyrese Haliburton, and teammate Evan Mobley.

Mitchell, who appears well on his way to an All-NBA berth, averaged 25.8 points, 5.3 assists, and 4.2 rebounds in 30.5 minutes per game with a .487/.381/.786 shooting line in 10 games in February. His Cavaliers continued to extend their lead atop the Eastern Conference standings during the month, with a 10-1 record.

It’s the third time in Mitchell’s career that he has won a Player of the Month award, including his second time as a Cav.

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Jalen Suggs Undergoes Left Knee Surgery, Out For Season

March 4th, 2025 at 10:32am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

March 4: Suggs has undergone arthroscopic surgery to remove a cartilage fragment in his left knee, according to the Magic, who say the procedure also involved a “mosaicplasty to repair the trochlear joint surface” (Twitter link).

The team has formally ruled out Suggs for the rest of the season.

March 2: All-Defensive Team Magic guard Jalen Suggs will have a cartilage fragment removed from his left knee via arthroscopic surgery, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel reports that Suggs will undergo surgery this week, and the Magic anticipate that he will fully recover.

Earlier this week, Suggs had been sidelined indefinitely after being diagnosed with a trochlea injury in his left knee. The team had reportedly considered a litany of non-surgical interventions, including physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medication and rest, but ultimately determined that surgery was the best route.

The 23-year-old had already been shelved for Orlando’s last 14 games with what was originally called a left quad contusion. All told, the young guard has been out for 24 of Orlando’s last 25 contests, having also dealt with a low back strain in January.

Suggs had been building toward a return to action in recent weeks, but soon felt some lingering discomfort in his left knee. Further imaging revealed the trochlea injury.

The former No. 5 pick out of Gonzaga has averaged 16.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game this season for Orlando. Suggs is widely seen as one of the league’s elite perimeter defenders, and he has clearly been missed on both ends of the floor.

Orlando has gone 20-15 across Suggs’ 35 healthy bouts this year, and an underwhelming 9-17 when he has sat. The Magic had been a top-four seed for much of the season prior to his injuries but is now 29-32 and the East’s No. 8 seed.

As Charania notes (via Twitter), Suggs has played sparingly this season with Orlando’s other top rising talents, All-Star forward Paolo Banchero and fellow starting forward Franz Wagner. Collectively, that triumvirate has only shared the hardwood for 97 total minutes in 2024/25.

In October, Orlando inked Suggs to a five-season, $150.5MM rookie scale extension. That fully-guaranteed deal will kick in when the 2025/26 league year begins. He is clearly considered a major part of the club’s long-term future, but it’s unclear when he’ll be able to contribute again.

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Kyrie Irving Diagnosed With Season-Ending ACL Tear

March 4th, 2025 at 9:55am CST by Luke Adams

Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving‘s left knee injury has been diagnosed as a torn ACL, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). The injury will end Irving’s season.

Irving was injured during the first quarter of Monday’s loss to Sacramento as he drove to the basket and attempted to split Kings defenders DeMar DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas (Twitter video link). He lost his balance and came down awkwardly on his left leg, which appeared to hyperextend, before he fell to the court in pain and grabbed at his left knee.

After remaining on the floor for several minutes, Irving was helped to his feet and was able to shoot two free throws as fans in Dallas regaled him with “MVP” chants (Twitter video link). The star guard made both free throws before being assisted to the locker room.

It’s an absolutely brutal blow to a Dallas team that had already been afflicted by the injury bug in a major way in recent weeks, with big men Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively, and Daniel Gafford among the regulars who have missed significant time.

Following the trade of Luka Doncic last month, Irving has been a steadying force in Dallas, assuming the brunt of the ball-handling and play-making duties in the backcourt and helping to guide the team through a tumultuous period.

For the season, he averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.3 steals in 36.1 minutes per game across 50 appearances, with a shooting line of .473/.401/.916. Entering Monday, he had put up 28.1 PPG in 39.3 MPG in 10 outings since Doncic was traded.

With Irving out for the rest of the season, the Mavericks figure to turn to players like Spencer Dinwiddie, Dante Exum, Jaden Hardy, and Brandon Williams to handle point guard responsibilities. Hardy also exited Monday’s game due to an injury of his own, however, having sprained his right ankle in the third quarter.

Dallas has an open spot on its 15-man roster, but can’t add a free agent until April 10 due to its proximity to a first-apron hard cap. That means, barring a last-minute change to its two-way players, the team will have to make do with its current group as it attempts to hold onto a play-in spot.

The Mavericks currently have a 32-30 record, good for 10th in the Western Conference. They lead the 11th-place Suns by 3.5 games and the No. 12 Trail Blazers by four games.

While Dallas’ potential for a deep playoff run this spring has obviously taken a major hit as a result of Irving’s torn ACL, the injury figures to have an impact on the club beyond the current season. Many NBA players who have sustained ACL tears have required upwards of one year to come back from the injury and longer than that to get back to full strength.

A quicker recovery timeline is certainly a possibility, but the Mavericks probably shouldn’t count on having Irving back when the 2025/26 season gets underway next fall and shouldn’t necessarily assume he’ll be back to 100% before next spring or even until ’26/27.

It also remains to be seen how the injury will affect Irving’s contract situation. The nine-time All-Star holds a player option worth just shy of $43MM for next season, but was widely expected to turn it down in search of a lucrative new multiyear deal. It’s unclear if Irving will still decide to opt out — presumably, he would only do so if the Mavericks are still comfortable making a significant long-term investment in the 32-year-old while he recovers from a major injury.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter), besides now being ineligible for end-of-season awards (including All-NBA) this spring as a result of falling short of the required minimum of 65 games, Irving will also miss out on a pair of $1MM bonuses in his contract.

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Kai Jones Signs Two-Way Contract With Mavericks

March 3rd, 2025 at 5:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

March 3: The Mavericks have officially confirmed (via Twitter) that they’ve waived Kelley and signed Jones to a two-way contract.

March 2: Dallas will waive Kylor Kelley to make room for Jones, sources tell NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link).

March 1: Kai Jones, who was released earlier today by the Clippers, expects to sign a two-way deal with the Mavericks once he clears waivers, sources tell NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link).

The 24-year-old center saw limited action in 28 games with L.A. this season, averaging 2.2 points and 1.6 rebounds in 7.4 minutes per night. He was getting consistent playing time earlier in the season, but was only used once during February and hasn’t played more than three minutes in a game since January 15.

At 6’11”, Jones can provide valuable size for a Dallas team that is trying to survive while its top three big men recover from injuries. Anthony Davis is set to be reevaluated March 6 for the adductor strain he suffered in his Mavericks debut. Daniel Gafford, who has a grade 3 MCL sprain, and Dereck Lively, who’s dealing with a fractured ankle, will have their conditions checked on that same date, although they aren’t expected to return for a while.

Moses Brown has been the Mavs’ starting center for the past two games, but he will become a free agent when his 10-day contract expires tonight. Hard cap restrictions will prevent Dallas from offering Brown another contract until April 10.

That could create an opportunity for Jones to make an immediate impact. Even though his NBA career has been disappointing so far, he was regarded highly enough to be the 19th pick in the 2021 draft.

Dallas’ two-way slots are currently filled by Brandon Williams, Kessler Edwards and Kylor Kelley, so a move will have to be made in time for Jones to be added by the March 4 deadline to sign two-way players.

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