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Knicks Notes: Hart, Rotation, Hartenstein, Brunson, DiVincenzo

May 8th, 2024 at 2:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Back in November, Josh Hart griped a little about what he felt was a reduced role in the Knicks‘ offense and expressed a desire to play more. As Fred Katz of The Athletic writes, Hart has no complaints about how much he’s playing in the postseason (46.6 minutes per game), joking earlier this week that the only activity that tires him out isn’t basketball-related.

“My wife arguing with me,” he said. “That makes me extremely tired.”

Still, Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscription required) wonders how sustainable it is to have Hart and the Knicks’ other starters playing such heavy minutes as their season continues well into the spring. With Julius Randle, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Mitchell Robinson now out for the playoffs, Precious Achiuwa will likely enter New York’s rotation as its seventh man, but head coach Tom Thibodeau hasn’t shown much trust in anyone further down the depth chart.

The Pacers, living up to their name, played at the fastest pace this season of any playoff team, and there will be fewer days off between games in the second round than there were in the first, Bondy notes. According to guard Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana is hoping to take advantage of its depth and wear down New York over the course of the second-round series.

“We’re a pretty deep team. Probably the deepest in the league,” Haliburton said. “So we’re trying to use that to our advantage by getting up and pressuring and trying to wear on these guys as much as we can for a seven-game series.”

Here’s more on the Knicks:

Robinson’s latest injury underscores how important it is for the Knicks to re-sign Isaiah Hartenstein when he reaches unrestricted free agency this summer, Bondy writes in another New York Post story. Holding Hartenstein’s Early Bird rights, the Knicks will be able to offer him a starting salary worth up to approximately $16MM. While the expectation is that it won’t take more than that to retain Hartenstein, his value could continue to rise if he enjoys a strong playoff run without Robinson available to share the workload in the middle.
With his Game 1 performance vs. Indiana, Jalen Brunson became just one of four players in NBA history to score 40 or more points in four consecutive playoff games, joining Jerry West, Michael Jordan, and former Knicks star Bernard King. As Katz details for The Athletic, Brunson’s teammates and head coach appreciate the fact that – as great as he’s playing – he wants to keep getting better. “The thing that’s impressive, it’s always within the context of winning and his teammates and that’s always the most important thing to him,” Thibodeau said. “And I love his mentality because his mentality is that he’s not satisfied.”
While Donte DiVincenzo obviously hasn’t replaced Randle as the Knicks’ power forward in recent months, DiVincenzo’s ability to defend perimeter players, serve as a legitimate No. 2 scoring option, and step up in clutch moments has helped the team make up for the loss of its star forward, argues Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post.

Thunder Notes: SGA, Defense, Wiggins, Williams, Bench

May 8th, 2024 at 12:48pm CST by Luke Adams

Ahead of Wednesday evening’s MVP announcement, two of the three finalists for the award faced off in Oklahoma City on Tuesday, with Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander outdueling Luka Doncic of the Mavericks, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

Doncic, who is still battling a knee sprain, struggled to score efficiently against a Thunder defensive attack led by Luguentz Dort, making just 6-of-19 field goal attempts. Gilgeous-Alexander, meanwhile, racked up 29 points and nine assists and was a game-high +21 in OKC’s 22-point victory.

As Slater notes, neither Gilgeous-Alexander nor Doncic is expected to win this year’s Most Valuable Player award, given that Nikola Jokic is the heavy favorite. But even if Jokic wins, as expected, it’s an open question which star guard will finish as the runner-up. For his part, Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t make it sound as if he’s been eagerly anticipating Wednesday’s announcement.

“If I’m at home (I’ll watch),” Gilgeous-Alexander said, per Slater. “I didn’t know it was (Wednesday).”

Here’s more on the Thunder:

Through five playoff contests, the Thunder have allowed just 90.6 points per game, the lowest mark by any team through five games since the 2016 Spurs, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “It’s where we hang our hat every night,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of the Thunder’s defense. “Especially this late in the season, we know that if we want to win basketball games, that it’s gonna start on that end. Obviously we have some really talented players on that end of the floor, but we also like to do it together and not just rely on those guys.” Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving described OKC’s “endless amount of energy” as an obstacle Dallas will have to overcome to have a chance in the series, MacMahon adds.
The Thunder showed off their depth in Tuesday’s victory, according to Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. Led by Aaron Wiggins (16 points) and Jaylin Williams (11 points, nine rebounds), Oklahoma City’s bench outscored Dallas’ by a 42-23 margin. Many of the Thunder’s key reserves are on team-friendly deals for next season — Williams is under contract for the minimum, while OKC holds minimum-salary team options on Wiggins and Isaiah Joe.
The Thunder haven’t necessarily been viewed as a legitimate title threat due to their youth and lack of playoff experience, as well as their lack of size and rebounding, but each one of their postseason wins serves as evidence that those perceived weaknesses might not matter much, says Zach Kram of The Ringer. As Kram details, Oklahoma City led the NBA in several statistical categories, including three-point percentage, transition scoring, and turnovers forced, and was the only team besides Boston to rank in the top five in the league in both offensive and defensive rating. It’s true that no team this young has ever won a title, but no team as young as the current Thunder has ever been this good, Kram argues.

And-Ones: Nunn, Ojeleye, Media Rights, Carter-Williams

May 8th, 2024 at 11:33am CST by Luke Adams

After making the move from the NBA to Europe in 2023, Kendrick Nunn has had a big year with Panathinaikos in Greece. In 45 total games in the Greek League and EuroLeague, the veteran guard has averaged 14.2 points, 3.4 assists, and 2.5 rebounds in 25.0 minutes per game, posting an impressive shooting line of .464/.421/.988. Nunn’s squad has won 21 of 22 Greek League games and ranks second in the EuroLeague with a 23-11 record.

Nunn’s impressive performance earned him a longer-term commitment from Panathinaikos, who have signed the former Heat, Lakers, and Wizards guard to a two-year extension through 2025/26.

The new deal, which was confirmed by Panathinaikos team owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos on Instagram, features NBA outs this year and next year, according to Stavros Barbarousis of Eurohoops, so Nunn will have a window to potentially return stateside if the right opportunity arises. Assuming he plays out the contract, he’ll earn about five million Euros across the next two seasons, per Barbarousis.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Another former NBA player, forward Semi Ojeleye, has finalized an extension with his European team, signing a new two-year deal with Valencia Basket, the Spanish team announced in a press release. Ojeleye, who appeared in 284 games for the Celtics, Bucks, and Clippers from 2017-22, played in Italy in 2022/23 before heading to Spain, where he has averaged 13.3 PPG and 4.4 RPG on .493/.471/.869 shooting in 27 EuroLeague contests for Valencia.
Andrew Marchand of The Athletic provides an update on the NBA’s media rights negotiations, reporting that ESPN/ABC is expected to pay $2.6 billion per season to retain its broadcast rights to the league, while Amazon Prime Video will buy in at a rate of about $1.8 billion per year. With NBC hoping to replace TNT as an NBA partner and aggressively pursuing a deal believed to be in the range of $2.5MM annually, the league’s total media deal could be worth nearly $7 billion per season, a significant leap from its previous agreement, which was worth about $2.7 billion per year.
Writing for The Players’ Tribune, veteran NBA guard Michael Carter-Williams explores the challenges that injuries, anxiety, and depression have posed thus far in his playing career and explains why he’s in a good place now, even though he has appeared in just four NBA games over the last three seasons.

Southeast Notes: Young, Adebayo, Heat, Kispert

May 8th, 2024 at 10:06am CST by Luke Adams

As rumors continue to swirl about his future with the Hawks, Trae Young has changed agents, announcing (via Twitter) that he has signed with CAA Sports. He was previously represented by Klutch Sports.

Marc Stein reported last month that Young’s father Rayford Young recently became a certified NBA agent, but it’s unclear if Rayford will be part of his son’s group of reps at CAA.

A three-time All-Star, Young is coming off another strong statistical season, having averaged 25.7 points and a career-high 10.8 assists in 36.0 minutes per game across 54 starts for Atlanta. However, the Hawks have posted a sub-.500 record across the last three seasons and have only won three total playoff games during that stretch, so there’s an expectation that major changes are coming to the roster this summer, possibly affecting Young or backcourt mate Dejounte Murray.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

After finishing third in Defensive Player of the Year voting, Bam Adebayo‘s last chance to meet the super-max performance criteria this spring is to claim a spot on one of the league’s three All-NBA teams, notes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. If he doesn’t earn All-NBA honors, the Heat big man will still be eligible for a very lucrative contract extension this summer, worth up to approximately $165MM over three years. However, a super-max deal would be worth significantly more than that ($245MM over four years), and Adebayo could still meet the criteria with an All-NBA nod or DPOY win in 2025, so there’s no guarantee he’ll pursue an extension this summer.
Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald believes it’s time to consider a roster overhaul in Miami, arguing that the Heat‘s current core isn’t good enough to win a title and that the “root-canal offense” needs to change. Jackson suggests that the front office should seriously weigh the possibility of trading Jimmy Butler or making a “significant lateral move” if the team’s non-Butler and non-Adebayo assets aren’t enough to acquire a third star.
While Deni Avdija‘s breakout performance received more attention, third-year Wizards wing Corey Kispert may have raised his long-term ceiling in 2023/24 by becoming more of a three-level scoring threat instead of just a three-point shooter, writes Bijan Todd of Monumental Sports Network. According to Todd, new Wizards general manager Will Dawkins and president Michael Winger spoke to Kispert before last season about expanding his game and getting to the rim more often. “[Attacking the rim] changed everything. It changed everything. It seemed like my first two years, if I put the ball on the floor, the other team was just cool with it. That’s what they wanted me to do,” Kispert said. “But now it felt a little bit different. It felt like there were multiple layers to what teams had to do to stop what I was trying to do. Just because I put the ball on the deck doesn’t mean the job’s done for the defense anymore.”

Draft Notes: G League Elite Camp, Carrington, Edwards, George

May 8th, 2024 at 9:08am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially announced the list of invitees for its 2024 G League Elite Camp, which will take place this weekend in Chicago. The 45-player list is made up of some of the top prospects who didn’t earn invites to next week’s draft combine, though the standout performers at the Elite Camp will be invited to stick around for the combine.

There are a few differences between the final list of participants and the initial 44-player list of invitees. After previously reporting that Johnell Davis had turned down his invitation while Jaylen Wells had been upgraded to a combine invite, Jonathan Givony of ESPN tweets that three more players from the original list won’t take part: Spanish big man Eli Ndiaye, former Wisconsin wing AJ Storr, and Arizona guard KJ Lewis.

Ndiaye’s season with Real Madrid is still in progress, which explains his absence. Storr appears to be focused on transferring to Kansas, while Givony speculates that Lewis may also end up withdrawing from the draft to return to Arizona.

With those five players not attending the Elite Camp, the NBA invited six more prospects to round out the 45-player field. Those final six invitees are USC guard Boogie Ellis, Alabama guard Aaron Estrada, Florida guard Zyon Pullin, North Florida guard Chaz Lanier, New Mexico guard Jaelen House, and Cairns Taipans (Australia) guard Taran Armstrong.

Here’s more on the 2024 NBA draft:

In a story for HoopsHype, Michael Scotto looked at several prospects whose stock appears to be on the rise ahead of the combine, starting with Pittsburgh’s Carlton Carrington, who jumped 25 spots to No. 27 in HoopsHype’s latest aggregate mock draft. A number of NBA executives who spoke to Scotto believe Carrington could be selected in the 15-30 range. “I think he can handle the ball and has good size,” one exec said. “I don’t know if he can guard anybody on our level at his position. He didn’t showcase an ability to create shots for himself. He did a good job of passing the ball.”
Kentucky’s Justin Edwards, who entered last season with lottery upside, saw his stock drop over the course of an up-and-down freshman season, but it has bounced back as of late, according to Scotto, who notes that Edwards is now widely viewed as a borderline first-round pick. “Edwards is a little older for a freshman (20) and isn’t the most in-shape guy,” one scout told Scotto. “There’s a Shabazz Muhammad comparison with Edwards that some people may not want to hear. When he’s on, there’s a Rodney Hood comparison to be made. He’s fine. I think you can win basketball games with him as a role player.”
DaRon Holmes II (Dayton), Hunter Sallis (Wake Forest), Tristan Da Silva (Colorado), Trey Alexander (Creighton), and Kyshawn George (Miami) are among several other prospects identified by Scotto as trending up. “I think Kyshawn is pretty good,” a veteran scout told HoopsHype. “He’s young and skilled. He’s big at 6-foot-8, can shoot, and can handle it. He’s going to need some years, but you’d invest in him. I’d pick him higher than a lot of other guys because of his age. He’s impressed me.”

Southwest Notes: Doncic, T. Allen, Morant, Williamson

May 8th, 2024 at 7:58am CST by Luke Adams

Mavericks guard Luka Doncic had three full days off between the end of the team’s first-round series against the Clippers and the start of the second-round matchup with Oklahoma City, but it looked like the right knee sprain he suffered early in the Clippers series was still bothering him on Tuesday.

As Tim MacMahon of ESPN details, Doncic made 1-of-8 three-pointers in Dallas’ Game 1 loss to the Thunder and has now hit just 5-of-35 threes in his past four contests. That’s the worst three-point percentage (14.3%) for any player who has at least 30 attempts over a four-game postseason run in NBA history, says MacMahon.

“It’s just hurting,” Doncic said of his knee, per Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (subscription required). “Less mobility. Less explosiveness when I’m driving the ball. But it’s about the same. These days gave me a little more time to rest, a little more time to rehab.”

Asked specifically about how big a part his knee issues are playing in his shooting struggles, Doncic declined to speculate, telling reporters that bouncing back from the Mavericks’ fifth consecutive Game 1 loss is his focus.

“Who cares? We lost,” he said. “We’ve just got to move on to the next one. I’ve got to be better. We’ve got to be better. We’re known for Game 1-struggling, but we’ve got to focus.”

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

The Grizzlies are expected to retire Tony Allen‘s No. 9 jersey during the 2024/25 season, the former defensive standout tells Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Memphis had originally planned to retire Allen’s number during the 2021/22 season, according to Cole, but the veteran guard asked the team to postpone it due to his legal issues. Allen will join former teammates Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph among Grizzlies players with their jerseys retired. “I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “Hopefully, I have a box of tissue with me.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver provided a favorable update on Grizzlies guard Ja Morant on Monday, according to Cole. Silver had “regular check-ins” with Morant over the course of the year, which was one of the conditions attached to his 25-game suspension for multiple off-court incidents. “From everything we have seen, his development has been very positive,” Silver said. “Working with the team and his personal management, having a stronger support team around him seems to be making a difference in his life.”
A federal appeals court has upheld a 2021 ruling in favor of Zion Williamson, according to an Associated Press report, determining that the Pelicans forward’s contract with a marketing agent was void because she wasn’t licensed in North Carolina at the time of the agreement. Gina Ford, a Florida-based agent, had been seeking $100MM from Williamson, accusing him of improperly breaking a contract allowing her to represent him for endorsement purposes.

Clippers Notes: Future Skepticism, Westbrook, Lue, Championship Window

May 7th, 2024 at 10:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Clippers will play in a new arena next season but they’ll have to hope their current core group can produce a better playoff run, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN writes.

Team president Lawrence Frank declared on Monday that he’ll try to re-sign Paul George, who can opt out of his contract, and James Harden, who will be an unrestricted free agent.

Kawhi Leonard, who signed a three-year extension, only appeared in two games during the first round due to injury. Despite the age of the team, Frank said it’s not far-fetched to believe they’ll have better health during the next postseason.

“I understand the skepticism of, ‘Hey, this is another year where you haven’t had the group [whole],'” he said.“But I would guard against the cynicism. Just because it’s happened [four straight seasons] doesn’t mean it’s always going to happen next year.”

They will have to cling to that hope because they don’t have much choice except to run it back with Leonard, George and Harden, Youngmisuk adds.

We have more on the Clippers:

Russell Westbrook has a $4MM player option to ponder and stated in an Instagram post that he was just fine with being a key reserve for the team. “I, for one, enjoyed my year, and worked hard to bring the energy and provide a spark for each opportunity I was given,” he wrote in part, adding, “I hope to come back better, stronger, and remain eager to take on any role that continues to put us in the best position to win next season!”
The Clippers can’t afford to offer Westbrook significantly more if he opts out but Frank said the players would hate to lose him, Mark Medina of Sportskeeda.com relays. “Guys in the locker room love Russ,” Frank said. “Got a lot of respect for Russ, what he’s done for his career and what he’s done for the Clippers. He’s one of the game’s great players.”
The front office has, by all indications, prioritized an extension agreement with head coach Tyronn Lue, according to Medina. Lue has one year left on his deal. “He has a great way of connecting while still holding guys accountable,” Frank said. “He’s a truth teller without leaving scars or wounds. He’s an unbelievable strategist who makes terrific in-game adjustments. And he has a growth mindset in that he’s always looking to get better. So our hope is that Ty is here for a long time. We love Ty.”
The championship window for this group has closed, Law Murray of The Athletic opines. The conference is too strong and dotted with younger stars leading teams such as Oklahoma City and Minnesota, Murray notes. He adds that the past three years have proven that the team cannot seriously contend with aging, injury-prone stars in Leonard and George. However, Frank disagreed. “We are still big believers that the window is still open,” Frank said, as Murray relays. “But also acknowledge the fact that we can understand the skepticism with it, and there are no guarantees either way.”

Pacers Notes: Haliburton, Game 2, Officiating, Carlisle

May 7th, 2024 at 9:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Tyrese Haliburton was a non-factor offensively in the Pacers’ tight loss to the Knicks during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Monday. Haliburton had just six points and committed three turnovers.

The Pacers advanced past the Bucks in the opening round even though their star guard shot 43.5% from the field and 29.6% on 3-point attempts, Brian Lewis of the New York Post notes. Haliburton only attempted six shots and did dish out eight assists in Monday’s four-point defeat.

“He gets trapped every time he comes off and pick and roll. And the best thing about Tyrese is he won’t force a bad shot,” fellow guard T.J. McConnell said. “He gets others involved and we trust him wholeheartedly. With the ball in his hands every single time.”

We have more on the Pacers:

Haliburton spoke about his offensive woes after the team’s practice on Tuesday and vowed to be better in Game 2. “I erred on the side of play-making … and that wasn’t the right decision for me,” Haliburton said, per Brian Windhorst of ESPN. “I still got to be who I am, but yeah, I’ll just be better (Wednesday).” Haliburton is dealing with back spasms and is listed as questionable for Game 2, as he was entering the series. “I’m confident he’ll play, but it’s a concern,” coach Rick Carlisle said.
The Pacers had a right to be upset with the officiating in Game 1 but generally chose to take the high road, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star writes. During the final minute, forward Aaron Nesmith deflected a pass with his hand that was called a kicked ball, stopping play dead instead of giving the Pacers a steal that they could have turned into a fast-break bucket. With 12 seconds left and the Pacers down 118-117, Myles Turner was called for an offensive foul for an illegal screen. “I don’t want to talk about the officiating,” Carlisle said. “We’re not expecting to get calls in here.” Turner felt the officials’ controversial calls marred a thrilling contest. “In my experience in this league, I think it’s best when the players decide the outcome of the game,” Turner said. “I think it’s unfortunate that it happened.” The league’s Last Two Minutes report indicated Turner did commit an offensive foul, Ian Begley of SNY TV tweets. Video of the plays can be found here (Twitter links).
Carlisle said in the pregame press conference on Monday that the Mavericks tried hard to trade up and snag Haliburton in the 2020 draft, when he slipped to the 12th pick, Dopirak tweets. “We thought he was the best player in the draft that year when we were in Dallas. We were trying desperately to trade up to get him,” Carlisle said. During a 2023 podcast appearance, Dallas’ then-owner, Mark Cuban, confirmed the team’s interest in trading up for Haliburton.

Mitchell Robinson Out For Remainder Of Postseason

May 7th, 2024 at 7:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Knicks center Mitchell Robinson has sustained a stress injury to his left ankle and will miss the remainder of the postseason, according to the team’s PR department (Twitter link).

Robinson won’t even be reevaluated for six-to-eight weeks, thus his injury-marred season is over. The big man underwent testing late this afternoon, which determined the extent of the injury, according to Ian Begley of SNY TV (Twitter link). He won’t require surgery, Begley adds.

Earlier in the evening, the team ruled him out for Wednesday’s Game 2 against the Pacers due to left ankle injury management. It’s now apparent the injury is much more serious.

Robinson played just 12 minutes in New York’s Game 1 victory, contributing two points, two rebounds and an assist. He also missed one game during the first-round series against Philadelphia after spraining the same ankle.

Robinson underwent left ankle surgery in December. He didn’t return until March 27.

Overall, Robinson only appeared in 31 regular season games. He has two years remaining on his four-year, front-loaded $60MM contract.

With Robinson out, Precious Achiuwa‘s role figures to expand dramatically. He played just four minutes off the bench as the team’s eighth man on Monday.

Jamal Murray Fined $100K, Avoids Suspension

May 7th, 2024 at 6:37pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray has been fined $100K for throwing multiple objects in the direction of a game official during Game 2 of their playoff series against the Timberwolves, the league announced in a press release. However, Murray averted a suspension.

Murray threw a towel toward the court during the second quarter of the Nuggets’ 106-80 loss on Monday, then tossed a heat pack that made it onto the court during live play (Twitter video link).

The incident, which Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch referred to after the game as “dangerous” and “inexcusable,” wasn’t caught in the moment by game officials. Referee crew chief Marc Davis said Murray would have been assessed with a technical foul if they knew Murray had thrown the heat pack.

Murray, who scored just eight points on 3-of-18 shooting, has been battling a calf injury during the playoffs.