Southeast Notes: Porzingis, Cooks, Love, Carter
Wizards big man Kristaps Porzingis had perhaps the best offensive game of his career on Wednesday vs. Atlanta, scoring 43 points on 17-of-22 shooting. However, it wasn’t enough to hold off the Hawks, who pulled out a two-point comeback win in D.C.
As Ava Wallace of The Washington Post writes, Porzingis is one of two starting Wizards forwards – along with Kyle Kuzma – who can become free agents this offseason, and the team’s up-and-down play is a reminder that the way the rest of the season plays out could have a major impact on Washington’s future.
The franchise needs to assess the upside of its current big three (Porzingis, Kuzma, and Bradley Beal), while Porzingis and Kuzma will have to decide whether they believe the Wizards can become a contender. Porzingis, who has said that Washington’s performance the rest of this season will be a factor he considers as he weighs his future, wants to make sure the team’s effort level doesn’t wane in the next few weeks.
“What frustrates me the most is when we have been down or we’re not playing our best basketball and I don’t feel like we want it. I hate that. We were supposed to be the most hungry team out there, we haven’t done anything, we’re not even in the top-six playoff picture,” Porzingis said after a tight win over Detroit on Tuesday. “So I don’t like when we’re not hungry, that’s what bothers me the most. But if I see that, like the games we lost against Toronto and Milwaukee (on Saturday and Sunday)? I felt the hunger in us. I felt like we wanted it, we were going after it, we were fighting hard, it was a physical game — I can live with that. It’s only when we’re not fighting that it bothers me.”
Here’s more from around the Southeast:
- Sam Vecenie and Josh Robbins of The Athletic take a closer look at Xavier Cooks, exploring what the 27-year-old forward will bring to the Wizards. Cooks, who has been starring for the Sydney Kings of the NBL, is expected to sign with Washington in the coming days. Vecenie praises Cooks for his passing ability and defensive versatility, but suggests that he’ll need to improve his outside shooting if he hopes to establish himself as an NBA rotation player.
- After not playing at all during his last few weeks in Cleveland, Kevin Love has started his first seven games and averaged 22.2 minutes per night for the Heat. However, he’s not getting the results he hoped for so far, posting a shooting line of just .396/.242/.875, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Nonetheless, head coach Erik Spoelstra still believes Love is a “great fit” for Miami’s starting five. “It’s a short period of time, but he really complements that starting group,” Spoelstra said.
- Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. has missed three consecutive games due to left hip pain, but is optimistic about his chances of returning to action on Saturday vs. Miami, he tells Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel (subscriber-only link).
Southwest Notes: Cauley-Stein, Smith, Wembanyama, Morant
Veteran center Willie Cauley-Stein‘s 10-day deal with the Rockets has expired, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Feigen adds that Houston does not have any players on the docket to fill his roster spot immediately.
Given that the Rockets are now carrying just 13 players on standard contracts, one below the NBA’s required minimum, they’ll have two weeks to add a 14th player. As Feigen notes, Cauley-Stein did not play while with Houston.
There’s more out of the Southwest Division:
- Rockets rookie Jabari Smith Jr. has struggled in an uneven first pro season, Feigen writes in a separate article. Selected with the third pick in 2022 out of Auburn, the 6’10” power forward has exhibited enticing defensive flashes, but has struggled offensively, Feigen notes.
- The rebuilding Spurs‘ current players can’t help but acknowledge the ongoing sweepstakes for the right to draft top 2023 prospect Victor Wembanyama, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. “It’s hard not to avoid looking at the bottom,” forward Keita Bates-Diop said. “I don’t like looking at it when I see it.” Veteran San Antonio forward Doug McDermott also weighed in: “I know everyone is probably aware of (the standings). You see it on social media and it’s kind of hard to escape. But it’s not like I’m checking on my phone every night to see where we’re at.”
- Warriors power forward Draymond Green weighed in on the plight of troubled Grizzlies All-Star point guard Ja Morant on his self-titled podcast. Green opined that Morant could learn from All-Star veterans LeBron James and Stephen Curry, both of whom have been model citizens while operating as the de facto faces of the league. (hat tip to Evan Barnes of The Memphis Commercial Appeal for the transcription). “You can’t be the face of the NBA putting the NBA in harm’s way,” Green said. “A team competing at a championship level, No. 2 seed in the West, it’s being thrown away.”
Central Notes: Hampton, Wiseman, Beverley, Horst
Third-year Pistons guard R.J. Hampton is slowly finding his place within his new team, writes Mike Curtis of The Detroit News (subscription required).
Hampton has earned significant playing time since arriving in Detroit last month following injuries to guards Killian Hayes and Alec Burks. He got off to a slow start, but with a bump in minutes over the past four contests, he is averaging 10.0 PPG on 48% field goal shooting, 2.3 RPG, 1.5 APG, and 1.3 SPG.
“I always tell myself, ‘When you put a pizza in the oven, you don’t like what it looks like after 20 seconds,'” Hampton told Curtis. “You gotta let it cook for a minute. You take it out the oven once it cooks and then you eat your pizza… I’m finding my footing here and kind of understanding my role, what I want it to be.”
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- New Pistons addition James Wiseman is stringing together the best basketball in his NBA career thus far, Curtis writes in a subscriber-only mailbag for The Detroit News. Curtis also addresses questions on the free agency of Hamidou Diallo and the exact extent of Detroit’s player injuries.
- Bulls starting point guard Patrick Beverley, an unrestricted free agent this summer, would like to remain with his hometown team beyond the 2022/23 season, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “Thinking about staying in a place long term, stuff like that, that’s not really up to your control,” Beverley noted. “I’d like to think that I did all the right things when I was in Minnesota, and I was traded the next summer. So you can’t get caught up in what you can’t control.”
- Bucks team general manager Jon Horst recently reflected on how the team has made subtle roster enhancements since injuries and depth issues hampered their title defense in 2022, according to Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “As proud as I was, or we were, of our team last year – that’s sincere and genuine – it’s hard, it’s hard to defend a championship,” Horst told Owczarski. “We were right there. We had a chance. And that’s all you ask for every year… And we went into the summer, the offseason, like ‘we’ve got to get better… These teams are good, we’re like ‘we’ve got to get better, we’ve got to load up.’ So, really what we did is we loaded up.”
NBA Fines Fred VanVleet $30K
The NBA announced (Twitter link) that it has fined Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet after he took umbrage with the work of referee Ben Taylor following a loss to the Clippers on Wednesday.
VanVleet will be docked to the tune of $30K for his criticisms, per the NBA statement.
During the 108-100 defeat, Los Angeles shot 17 more free throws than Toronto. Taylor whistled VanVleet for a technical foul during the contest’s third quarter.
In his postgame remarks, VanVleet acknowledged that he would most likely incur a fine before launching into his criticisms of Taylor’s officiating and that of the other attendant referees in general. VanVleet observed that several of his technical fouls this season (five of eight, to be precise), transpired during games Taylor was officiating.
VanVleet alternately called the fouls “bulls—” and “personal” during his remarks, and singled out Taylor as being “f—ing terrible” on Wednesday.
The 6’1″ vet, 29, has been enjoying a solid year for the 32-34 Raptors, technical fouls aside. He’s averaging 19.3 PPG on .391/.341/.899 shooting splits, 6.9 APG, 4.3 RPG and 1.6 SPG in 55 games this season, all starts.
Jazz Notes: Dunn, Prospects, Season, THT, Jones
Jazz guard Kris Dunn has evolved from being a 10-day contract signing to a critical role player, opines Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune.
Dunn is currently averaging 12.6 PPG, 4.3 APG, 4.2 RPG, and 1.7 SPG across his six games with Utah. He is also connecting on career-bests of 54.2% from the floor and 43.8% of his three-pointers. Dunn credits his stint with the Capital City Go-Go, NBAGL affiliate of the Wizards, with helping improve his game ahead of his Utah tenure this season.
“The G League really helped my game this year,” Dunn said. “I had some inconsistency. Now I feel comfortable when I’m playing; I know where my spots are, I’m trying to take good shots … The game is slowing down for me.”
Dunn, the No. 5 pick in 2016 out of Providence, is crossing his fingers that he can earn a long-term contract with the Jazz, writes Sarah Todd of The Deseret News.
There’s more out of Utah:
- The Jazz find themselves at a bit of a crossroads as they head into the final weeks of the 2022/23 NBA season, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic. The team could position itself into top-10 lottery pick terrain fairly easily, or it could try to string together some victories for some level of postseason play, be that a play-in tournament or even a playoff appearance.
- With March Madness set to kick off soon, the Jazz have a variety of intriguing NCAA players worth keeping an eye on, in addition to top prospects Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson, writes Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune (subscriber-exclusive link).
- Jazz role players Damian Jones and Talen Horton-Tucker, both of whom have player options for the 2023/24 season, come under the microscope for fresh analysis courtesy of Todd in a separate piece. Todd considers Jones a solid two-way player with some potential as a long-range shooter, and suggests that Horton-Tucker, while still a raw prospect, has exhibited some potential as a point guard.
Suns’ Durant Sprains Ankle, Out At Least Three Weeks
6:26pm: Durant will have his sprained left ankle reassessed in three weeks, the team has announced (Twitter link).
Durant’s return timeline will be determined by how he recuperates, says Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). Swelling in the ankle has already improved, sources tell Charania.
7:03am: After Suns star Kevin Durant suffered an ankle injury during pregame warmups on Wednesday and exited Footprint Center in a walking boot, there’s concern within the organization that he’ll be diagnosed with a Grade 2 sprain, according to Greg Moore of The Arizona Republic.
Durant is expected to undergo more testing on his ankle on Thursday to determine the severity of the sprain. However, because the team isn’t scheduled to practice until Friday, we may have to wait another day for an official update, tweets Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports.
If it’s deemed to be a Grade 2 sprain, it would likely sideline Durant for four-to-six weeks, jeopardizing his ability to play another regular season game, writes Moore. The Suns’ regular season finale is exactly one month from today.
Durant’s injury occurred when he was driving to the basket during warmups prior to what would have been his first home game as a Sun. He slipped and went to the floor as he attempted to jump for a layup attempt (Twitter video link via Kellan Olson of ArizonaSports.com).
Hopefully Durant’s injury is less serious than a Grade 2 sprain, but if that’s the diagnosis, he and the Suns can certainly count on a multi-week absence.
LaMelo Ball, Chris Duarte, and Justise Winslow are among the players who have suffered Grade 2 ankle sprains so far this season — Ball missed nearly five weeks, Duarte was out for a little over six weeks, and Winslow remains on the shelf nearly two-and-a-half months after injuring his ankle (though that recovery process seems abnormally long).
More recently, Anfernee Simons was diagnosed with a Grade 2 sprain last month and returned in just over two weeks, but aggravated the injury in his first game back; Hamidou Diallo was ruled out for at least three-to-four weeks after sustaining a Grade 2 sprain on Monday.
Durant, who was still recovering from an MCL sprain when he was acquired a month ago at the trade deadline, has only appeared in three games for his new club. However, teammate Chris Paul said after Wednesday’s win over Oklahoma City that he’s not worried about the Suns not having enough time to jell due to KD’s injury (Twitter link via Bourguet). For what it’s worth, Phoenix won all three of its games with Durant – all on the road – by an average margin of 13 points.
California Notes: Mann, Kawhi, PG, Green, Russell
Clippers reserve guard Terance Mann is adjusting to his new gig behind starting point guard Russell Westbrook, writes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. Having replaced Reggie Jackson, Mann had been the team’s starter at the point until Westbrook joined the club.
“It’s all right,” Mann said of the change. “Kind of reminds me of the position I had (before). I think I’ve been here before earlier in the year. Same sort of role if I can recall. But it’s been going all right. Just figuring it out. New unit. New voices out there. Different looks. So just sifting it out, sifting through it.
“… You know, they just want me to go out there and bring energy,” Mann continued. “I think I can do a way better job defensively than I had been doing. But just bring energy on the offensive. Make shots and play defense. And I think that’s going to be my role on this team, from here on out.”
There’s more out of California:
- Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue is counting on star wings Paul George and Kawhi Leonard to help the team hone its defense in the home stretch of the season, says Law Murray of The Athletic. “The last two days, we challenged our team to be better defensively, and I thought tonight with [George] setting the tone early, I just thought our defense tonight was really good,” Lue said. “I thought we really got into the ball. We were physical… I thought PG and Kawhi really set the tone early, and everyone else I thought was really good defensively.”
- Ahead of Wednesday’s Golden State/Memphis game, Warriors forward Draymond Green took to his podcast via The Volume and launched into a lengthy tirade against Grizzlies small forward Dillon Brooks, who had previously talked derisively about Green, writes Evan Barnes of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. “This idiot said, ‘I don’t know what Draymond does out there, I just don’t like Golden State,'” Green said said. “I, quite frankly, wouldn’t like a team that beats me all the time, either.”
- Lakers starting point guard D’Angelo Russell is expected to return to action on Friday for the team’s game against the Raptors, reports Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). McMenamin adds that Russell will immediately move ahead of Dennis Schröder, who had been starting while D-Lo was hurt.
Isaiah Stewart Likely Out For Season With Shoulder Injury
An MRI on Tuesday revealed that Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart has a left shoulder impingement, Detroit announced. He will continue to rehabilitate the injury and will be reevaluated in three-to-four weeks, per the team.
Stewart initially injured the shoulder in January, causing him to miss a handful of games. He has been sidelined since February 25 due to a separate injury (right hip soreness).
With the worst record in the NBA (15-51) and only 16 games remaining on their schedule, there’s little reason to believe the Pistons will rush Stewart back to play again this season. He joins Hamidou Diallo and Bojan Bogdanovic as Pistons who might miss the rest of the season.
Through 50 games, including 47 starts, Stewart averaged a career-high 11.3 PPG, 8.1 RPG, and 1.4 APG on .442/.327/.738 shooting. The primary reason his FG% is down compared to the previous two seasons is that he expanded his offensive repertoire, as he attempted nearly as many threes as twos in ’22/23.
Stewart also slid down to power forward for a significant chunk of his playing time this season, which was a big change. He had played center almost exclusively in his first two seasons.
Still just 21 years old, the former 16th overall pick will be eligible for a rookie scale extension in the offseason. While Stewart is sidelined, Marvin Bagley III and James Wiseman should continue to see plenty of playing time, at least until rookie center Jalen Duren returns from his own injury (bilateral ankle soreness).
Doncic’s MRI Clean, Expected Back Once Pain Dissipates
The MRI on Luka Doncic‘s left thigh strain came back clean, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The Mavericks star is expected to return to action once the pain in his thigh dissipates, Wojnarowski adds.
Doncic left Wednesday’s loss to New Orleans with the injury. He was favoring his left leg as he walked into a post-game media session and replied “not good” when reporters asked how he felt.
The 24-year-old MVP candidate said he had been dealing with pain in his thigh for about a week.
“I think we all can see he’s not moving well, so shooting, defensive, it’s affecting everything,” coach Jason Kidd said after yesterday’s game. “He’s trying to fight through it and help his teammates, but he had to leave.”
Through 57 games (36.3 MPG), Doncic is putting up incredible stats. He’s averaging a career-high 33.0 PPG (second in the league), 8.6 RPG, 8.0 APG and 1.5 SPG on .500/.349/.736 shooting splits.
Hopefully the pain from the injury goes away sooner rather than later, as Dallas is vying for a playoff spot. The Mavs currently hold a 34-33 record, making them the No. 8 seed in the West.
Lakers’ Mo Bamba Out At Least Four Weeks With Ankle Sprain
Backup center Mohamed Bamba has sustained a high left ankle sprain and will be reevaluated in about four weeks, the Lakers announced (Twitter link via Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times).
Bamba only played two minutes in Sunday’s victory over Golden State and was out for Tuesday’s win against Memphis.
There’s a good chance that Bamba could miss the rest of the regular season. If he came back in exactly four weeks, which seems unlikely given he’d almost certainly need some time to ramp up his conditioning, the Lakers would have just two regular season games left on their schedule, home contests against Phoenix and Utah.
A trade deadline acquisition from Orlando, the 24-year-old has averaged 4.4 PPG and 5.3 RPG in seven games (11.6 MPG) with the Lakers, posting a .417/.333/.545 shooting line. In 40 games (17.0 MPG) with the Magic this season, he averaged 7.3 PPG, 4.6 RPG and 1.0 BPG on .495/.398/.686 shooting.
The No. 6 overall pick in the 2018 draft, Bamba signed a two-year, $20.6MM contract last offseason after posting career highs in multiple categories in ’21/22. However, he was third on Orlando’s center depth chart for most of ’22/23 and his salary for next season is non-guaranteed.
Bamba’s injury further depletes the Lakers’ frontcourt depth, as LeBron James is also sidelined with a foot injury. With both players out, Anthony Davis, Troy Brown, Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura and Wenyen Gabriel should continue to see the bulk of the minutes at forward and center.
The Lakers do have an opening on their 15-man standard roster, so they could sign someone without making a corresponding roster move. Los Angeles is currently 32-34, the No. 9 seed in the West.