Heat Notes: Oladipo, Roster, Highsmith, D. Robinson
Heat guard Victor Oladipo expects to have surgery later this week on his torn left patellar tendon, sources tell Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Although this will be Oladipo’s third major surgical procedure in roughly four years, doctors believe he’ll be able to make a full recovery and he plans to continue his basketball career, Chiang adds.
Oladipo will travel to New York to have the operation performed by Dr. Jonathan Glashow, who handled the second surgery on the quadriceps tendon in Oladipo’s right knee two years ago. Glashow anticipates a six-month recovery process, according to Chiang, although an official timeline won’t be established until the operation is complete. If all goes well with Oladipo’s rehab, he could return to action early in the 2023/24 season.
Chiang notes that Oladipo wasn’t in Miami’s rotation at the end of the season, but coach Erik Spoelstra turned to him after Tyler Herro broke his hand in Game 1 of the playoffs. Oladipo played 26 minutes in Game 2, scoring 15 points, and had eight points in 19 minutes before getting hurt Saturday.
“This year and last year, he worked his way back to be healthy and back in it,” Spoelstra said. “But all those times where he was just rehabbing and not available to play, those can be very frustrating times. But you’d never see that on his face, he was always with a positive attitude and a smile.”
There’s more from Miami:
- The injuries to Oladipo and Herro, along with the back spasms that have sidelined Nikola Jovic, leave the Heat with just 12 available players, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. NBA rules prevent teams from adding replacements in the postseason as long as they have at least nine players who are capable of taking the court. “The next guy’s going to have to step up,” said Kyle Lowry, who has been listed as questionable for each game in the series due to an ongoing struggle with knee soreness. “And we understand that we’ll get more minutes from Gabe (Vincent) and more minutes from myself, Caleb (Martin).”
- Haywood Highsmith could be part of the rotation if Spoelstra wants to use more than eight players, Winderman notes in a separate piece. With Udonis Haslem not a realistic option, Winderman states that Spoelstra’s only choices are Highsmith, Cody Zeller and Omer Yurtseven.
- Duncan Robinson has excelled since Herro’s injury, leading the team with 10 made three-pointers while shooting a sizzling 76.9% from beyond the arc in the first three games of the series, Chiang adds in another Miami Herald story. It’s a gratifying conclusion to a season that saw Robinson move in and out of the rotation and miss 20 games due to finger surgery. “Some ups and downs just personally and as a group, as well,” he said. “And that’s the beautiful thing about this time of the year, you just got to commit everything you can to try to help us win.”
Draft Notes: Bates, Early Entrants, NTX Combine
Eastern Michigan’s Emoni Bates, the nation’s top high school recruit in 2021, has decided to enter the NBA draft, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
“What I been dreaming for my whole life,” Bates wrote on his Instagram account this morning.
The 19-year-old swingman spent his first collegiate season at Memphis before transferring to the Eagles last summer. He averaged 19.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 30 games as a sophomore while shooting 40.5% from the field and 33% from three-point range.
Bates has slipped to 56th on ESPN’s latest big board of the top 100 draft prospects, so he’s not a sure thing to be selected. EMU is coming off an 8-23 season, and ESPN’s Jonathan Givony speculated last month that Bates might have hurt his draft stock by staying in school.
There’s more draft news to pass along:
- Kansas State’s Keyontae Johnson (Twitter link), Missouri’s Kobe Brown (Instagram link), and Baylor’s Jalen Bridges (Twitter link) have all declared for the draft while retaining their college eligibility. Johnson ranks 40th on ESPN’s big board, while Brown is 43rd and Bridges is 69th. The deadline to withdraw from the draft and still be eligible to play in college next season is May 31 at 11:59 pm ET.
- Creighton’s Arthur Kaluma announced on his Twitter page that he’ll be entering the draft, making no mention of possibly returning to college. The sophomore power forward is 90th in ESPN’s rankings.
- Serbia’s Mihailo Boskovic has also put his name in the draft, according to Misko Raznatovic (Twitter link).
- The NTX Combine expects to host 32 draft prospects from May 2-4 with representatives of more than 20 NBA team in attendance, tweets Marc J. Spears of Andscape. He notes that past participants have landed Exhibit 10, summer league and G League contracts. Former NBA players Maurice Evans, Mike James and Shawn Respert will be among the coaches at the combine.
Knicks Notes: Toppin, Rotation, McBride, Randle
Obi Toppin was part of an unusual closing lineup for the Knicks in Sunday’s Game 4 victory over the Cavaliers, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. With Julius Randle shooting just 3-of-10 from the field, coach Tom Thibodeau used Toppin as his power forward for virtually the entire fourth quarter. He delivered five points and eight rebounds in the game, and New York outscored Cleveland by 11 points in the 20 minutes he was on the court.
“I thought Obi was terrific,” Thibodeau said. “He gave us energy, but he also gave us rebounding.”
The Knicks finished out the contest with Toppin and Isaiah Hartenstein joining RJ Barrett, Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson. Thibodeau stuck with the unconventional lineup, which staged a late 15-6 run that put the game out of reach.
“Those guys built the lead,” he said. “Obviously whatever you think gives the team the best chance to win, that’s what you’re gonna do.”
There’s more from New York:
- Quentin Grimes‘ shoulder injury is creating an opportunity for Miles McBride, Braziller adds. The second-year guard hit a three-pointer and did a solid job defending Donovan Mitchell during his five minutes of action Sunday. “The coaches are gonna be pretty transparent with me, so they were like, ‘be ready, games can flow in different ways,’ so I was always trying to stay ready,” McBride said. “My development coach has definitely been locked in with the film showing me a lot of things and making sure I was staying on it. And then just trust in my abilities.”
- A left ankle injury that Randle suffered in late March is contributing to his struggles so far in the series, per Nick Friedell of ESPN. The All-Star forward was limited to 27 minutes Sunday and is shooting 21-of-65 through the first four games. “The thing is, he had to work around the clock to get back,” Thibodeau said. “That’s what I love about Julius. He gives you everything that he has. There’s 77 games, he sprains his ankle and then he works like crazy to get back, you know how important he is to the team, but to get back, to get ready to play — our medical people did a great job, but that’s all him. He was working around the clock on that, he still is. That’s the challenge that we have and that’s what I respect about him. And we just got to get ready for our next game.”
- While Mitchell was misfiring with his shot on Sunday, going 5-of-18 from the field, the Knicks got major contributions from players who were rumored to be part of trade negotiations to acquire him from the Jazz last summer, notes Adam Zagoria of NJ.com. Toppin, Barrett and Mitchell Robinson all played a role in the Game 4 victory.
Dejounte Murray Faces Possible Suspension For Bumping Official
The NBA has launched an investigation into the actions of Hawks guard Dejounte Murray following Sunday’s loss to the Celtics, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
As he was leaving the court, Murray made contact with referee Gediminas Petraitis (video link). Murray also pointed and yelled at someone before heading to the locker room, Bontemps adds.
The Hawks didn’t make Murray available to the media after the game, so he wasn’t able to explain what happened.
Bontemps notes that the league normally imposes suspensions for players who make contact with officials. He cites the example of Celtics forward Grant Williams, who was suspended for one game after being ejected in October.
Bontemps also points out that suspension decisions in the playoffs are typically issued before the next game in the series, which means any discipline for Murray could be announced today. The teams will meet again Tuesday night in Boston with the Celtics holding a 3-1 lead.
Murray has been one of Atlanta’s most productive players in the series, averaging 25.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.3 steals through the first four games.
And-Ones: Biggest Issue, Awards, Baldwin, Faried, Campazzo
What’s the biggest issue facing the NBA? Not surprisingly, a poll of players conducted by Josh Robbins and Sam Amick of The Athletic placed the officiating at the top of the list. Out of 70 participants, 25.8 percent called out the officials for a variety of reasons.
“Ref accountability. It’s the (big) thing right now. Because there is none,” one poll respondent said. “There’s just not a system set up for it. And it’s been real shaky, I think, this year. Just something to keep them accountable. I don’t know if I want to take their money. But something to get them to have some type of, ‘I can’t f–k this up’ mentality.”
Load management was a close second in the poll. Rules skewed in favor of offensive players also ranked high on the list.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- The NBA will reveal the winner of the Most Improved Player award on Monday, the league’s communications department tweets. Lauri Markkanen, Jalen Brunson and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are the three finalists. The Rookie of the Year will be revealed on Tuesday, with Paolo Banchero considered the heavy favorite.
- Former NBA player Wade Baldwin IV has signed a two-year contract extension with Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv, according to Eurohoops.net. He averaged 16.7 points, 5.0 assists and 3.6 rebounds this season. Baldwin played 56 career NBA games, most recently with Portland during the 2018/19 season.
- Reyer Venezia is interested in signing big man Kenneth Faried for the Italian playoffs, according to Sportando. Faried spent this season playing in Mexico with Soles de Mexicali. Faried has been out of the NBA since he played a combined 37 games for Brooklyn and Houston during the 2018/19 season.
- Another former NBA player, Facundo Campazzo, is joining Real Madrid next season, Sportando relays. Campazzo joined Serbia’s Crvena Zvezda after being waived by the Mavericks in late November. He appeared in eight games with Dallas this season.
Nets Notes: Finney-Smith, O’Neale, Lillard, Johnson, Bridges, Simmons
Several executives around the league expect the Nets to be at the forefront of the trade market this offseason, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack notebook. They have a glut of wing players, led by Mikal Bridges. They also intend to match any offer for restricted free agent Cameron Johnson, Stein notes.
That means the Nets may seek suitors for Dorian Finney-Smith and Royce O’Neale as they attempt to upgrade in other areas, Stein adds. Finney-Smith is signed through the 2025/26 season with the final year being a player option. O’Neale has one year left on his contract.
We have more on the Nets:
- Speaking of being active on the trade market, multiple league executives expect the Nets to make a run at Damian Lillard if the perennial All-Star and Trail Blazers decide he’d be better off in another uniform, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reports. The Nets would likely have to add multiple first-rounders to include Ben Simmons in the trade. Alternatively, they could send the Blazers multiple players — including a quality young piece — and a couple of first-rounders.
- What is Johnson’s market value? According to execs that Scotto spoke with, he could get a four-year contract worth approximately $90MM. He’ll have some numerous suitors, including the Rockets.
- Bridges feels responsible for Brooklyn getting swept out of the postseason by Philadelphia, according to Ryan Dunleavy and Brian Lewis of the New York Post. Though he averaged 23.5 points in the series, he was held to 17 points in Game 4. “I feel like these past games, I’ve been letting my team down,” Bridges said. “I hate not [winning] a game for them. It hurts me as I’m just trying, but it’s part of it, man. I just own up to it and realize all you can do is just get better. That’s the biggest thing for me.”
- General manager Sean Marks confirmed a report that Simmons probably won’t need a second back surgery, Lewis tweets. “He is checking the boxes and meeting these different markers along the way,” Marks said. “So at this point, he does not need surgery. That is the hope going forward, that he will not have to endure another surgery.”
Central Notes: Hayes, Grant, Antetokounmpo, Bucks Series
While Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey appear to be the Pistons’ backcourt starters for at least the next few seasons, there are legitimate questions about the future of another backcourt lottery pick — Killian Hayes. Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press (subscription required) tackles that subject and anticipates the Pistons won’t extend Hayes this offseason. Instead, they’ll allow Hayes to enter next offseason as a restricted free agent, giving him extra motivation to have a strong fourth season and increase his market value.
We have more from the Central Division:
- The Pistons must address wing defense and shooting in free agency this offseason, Sankofa opines (subscription required). Bringing back unrestricted free agent Jerami Grant for a second stint with the organization would fit the bill, or they could make a run at restricted free agents Cameron Johnson and Grant Williams, Sankofa writes.
- Giannis Antetokounmpo did some individual work before the Bucks’ film session on Sunday, Eric Nehm of The Athletic tweets. However, coach Mike Budenholzer did not have an immediate update on his superstar’s status for Monday’s Game 4 against the Heat. Antetokounmpo was later listed as questionable, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. The top-seeded Bucks are down 2-1 in the series.
- In a related topic, Nehm details how the Bucks struggled offensively without Antetokounmpo in Game 3. Whether or not he returns from his back injury and plays in Game 4, Milwaukee will have to do a much better job matching Miami’s physicality.
Los Angeles Notes: James, Brooks, Reaves, Clippers, Westbrook
LeBron James fired back at the Grizzlies and nemesis Dillon Brooks with a typical big-game performance on Saturday, Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times opines. Brooks got ejected for hitting James in the groin region, while the Lakers superstar delivered 25 points, nine rebounds and five assists in the 10-point Game 3 victory. “This is not my first rodeo, I’ve had this throughout my career with certain individuals,” he said.
We have more on the Los Angeles teams:
- James didn’t want to share an opinion on whether Brooks’ ejection warranted a suspension for Monday’s Game 4, Mark Medina of The Sporting Tribune relays. “I don’t know. I’m not part of the committee,” the Lakers star said. “If he’s in the lineup or he’s out of the lineup, we have to prepare no matter what. I look forward to the challenges that Monday will bring.”
- Lakers guard Austin Reaves is getting used to taking hits, Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times writes. Reaves said he was struck in the face three or four times during Game 3. He shook off the blows and contributed 13 points, six rebounds and two assists. “I’m getting used to it,” said Reaves, a restricted free agent after the season.
- There’s a simple reason why the Clippers are facing elimination — the Suns have their stars and they don’t, Law Murray of The Athletic notes. The Clippers are facing a 3-1 deficit with Kawhi Leonard sidelined the last two games and Paul George sitting out the entire series. That has put much more pressure on the remaining players, including four rotation members that joined the team in the last quarter of the regular season. “I think the biggest thing is acquiring four new guys during the trade deadline with only 21 games left,” coach Tyronn Lue said. “It makes it harder, because they’re still learning on the fly pretty much. And when Kawhi and PG both don’t play, it’s unfamiliar territory for the other guys.”
- Russell Westbrook has averaged 31.7 points and 7.0 assists in the last three games and former teammate Kevin Durant said his former teammate is showing up his critics, Janis Carr of the Orange County Register writes. “When he retires, people are (going to) really tell the truth about how they feel about his game,” Durant said. “Right now, the fun thing to do is to make a joke out of Russ but the way he’s been playing since he got with the Clippers is showing everybody who he really is.”
Timberwolves Notes: Edwards, Alexander-Walker, Murray, Nuggets
With his team trailing the top-seeded Nuggets 3-0, All-Star Timberwolves shooting guard Anthony Edwards is dealing with the kind of postseason tribulations all developing young stars seem destined to endure, opines Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.
Though no team in league history has rallied to win a series from this deficit, Edwards remains unshakably confident.
“This series is not over,” Edwards said. “It’s the first to four, not to three. I promise you it ain’t over. Everyone’s counting us out. It ain’t over. I promise you.”
Krawczysnki notes that Edwards occasionally has tried to take on a bit too much of his team’s scoring load in an effort to salvage the series, but has also shown flashes that suggest he could be one of the few special stars capable of one day being able to lead the Timberwolves to playoff glory.
Through the series’ first three contests, the 6’4″ swingman is averaging 31.7 PPG on .500/.400/.862 shooting splits. He has also added 4.7 APG, 3.7 RPG, 2.3 SPG, and 1.7 BPG.
There’s more out of Minnesota:
- Reserve Timberwolves shooting guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, eligible for restricted free agent this summer, is hopeful that he can stick around with Minnesota long-term, per Chris Hine of The Star Tribune (via Twitter). “I would [like to return to the Timberwolves next year],” Alexander-Walker said. “I’m grateful for Minnesota, grateful for [head coach Chris] Finch and the head office. They gave me a chance… I believe in this group. Believe that we can figure it out together and do something special.” The 6’6″ wing out of Virginia Tech was traded to Minnesota by the Jazz midway through the season. In 23 regular season games with the Timberwolves, he averaged 5.9 PPG, 1.8 RPG and 1.4 APG.
- The Timberwolves are facing off against a star talent they could have selected in the 2016 draft, a decision they doubtlessly regret now, writes Aaron Lavinsky of The Star Tribune. Jamal Murray – along with MVP candidate Nikola Jokic – is the key offensive contributor for the Nuggets that has put Minnesota in dire straights. As Lavinsky details, Murray’s head coach at Kentucky, John Calipari, personally encouraged then-head coach and team president Tom Thibodeau to draft Murray with the team’s fifth pick, but Thibodeau was locked in on then-Providence point guard Kris Dunn. Dunn was briefly out of the NBA before signing with Utah this season, while Murray is a borderline All-Star.
- Today, the Timberwolves will try to begin an uphill battle to save their season against the West’s top-seeded Nuggets, writes Kent Youngblood of The Star Tribune. The team is trying to be more granular in its approach to this playoff series. Accordingly, Minnesota is striving to move forward one game at a time, starting with staving off elimination at home this evening.
Warriors Notes: Iguodala, Payton, Poole, Curry, Green
The Warriors have announced in a press release (Twitter link) that reserve swingman Andre Iguodala had the stabilizing splint removed from his left wrist and is set to be reevaluated two weeks from now.
Iguodala fractured the wrist during a March 13 game against the Suns. Golden State’s announcement notes that the 2015 Finals MVP has begun rehabilitating the wrist and that the team could give him the green light to start shooting drills and light ball-handling activities within the next week.
There’s more out of Golden State:
- Warriors guards Gary Payton II and Jordan Poole have been listed as probable to suit up for today’s critical Game 4 against the Kings, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic (via Twitter). Payton missed Game 3 due to a non-COVID-19 illness.
- All-Star Warriors point guard Stephen Curry indicated that he and his comrades appreciated the urgency of Game 3 against Sacramento, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. “I mean, pretty bluntly, if we lost this game, it’s pretty much over,” Curry said. “You’ve got to understand the moment and we gave ourselves life. Biggest thing is, we’ve been in the situation where momentum doesn’t necessarily carry over from game to game unless you execute at the same level, so it’s just one game, but it was a big game for sure.”
- Golden State will bring star forward Draymond Green off the bench and retain the Game 3 starting lineup they used while he was suspended, per Kendra Andrews of ESPN. Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweet that Green proposed the change. Poole will thus stay among the Warriors’ first five, separating the team’s two key shooting-challenged big men, Green and center Kevon Looney, for a crucial fourth game in their series against the Kings.