Lakers Notes: Ham, James, Christie, Wood
Darvin Ham, now back with the Bucks as an assistant, admitted to Marc J. Spears of Andscape that he was stunned in May when the Lakers fired him after two seasons.
“To do as well as I did, I swear to God, anywhere else I’m probably looking at an extension with what I did,” Ham said. “I’m not talking about feelings. I’m talking actual facts. They go from not making it to the playoffs to the final four in the NBA, the conference finals. And then you win the in-season tournament, navigate through all the injuries and win both of your play-in games to get to the playoffs. People always talk about us losing to Denver, but they never talk about how we got to Denver.”
Ham received criticism for his coaching methods and in-game strategy and there were reports the team’s stars felt the same way. Ham was blindsided by the negativity.
“I’m not a mudslinger and I’m not going to wait until I’m 51 to become one,” Ham said. “You feel like you did enough to sustain in one spot. I felt like I did that. I get it. The franchise I’m working for, the expectations can be unrealistic at certain points in time.
“To be 33-49 when I was hired, with an unbalanced roster, turn that around, make it to the Western Conference Finals. The very next year we were a plus-10 in wins, going from 33-49 to 43-39. And guys got paid on my watch. It went from a lot of unknown scenarios to I think we have a little bit of a core. And then we got hit with the injury bug like crazy last [season]. We might have been top five in games lost to injury.
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- LeBron James is listed as questionable to play against Sacramento tonight due to left foot injury management, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin tweets. James has only missed two games this season, but both of those absences have come in the last 11 days.
- Max Christie has suddenly become a key member of the rotation, averaging 25.1 minutes per game since November 15 and getting an audition as a starter as of late. He didn’t contribute much offensively on Sunday against Memphis but did an excellent job guarding Ja Morant, Khobi Price of the Orange County Register writes. “It’s a lot of confidence,” Christie said. “I’ve been thrown in the fire guarding a lot of really good players. Trae Young, Ja Morant, to name a few. So it’s definitely a big confidence booster for me.”
- Christian Wood has yet to make his season debut but he will take a significant step in his rehab from knee surgery during the team’s road trip, according to Price. Wood will remain in Southern California and do live drills against the team’s coaching associates. “He’s doing more on the court with obviously just individual work,” coach JJ Redick said. “His Alter-G (anti-gravity treadmill) stuff, getting to 95%, 100% on the Alter-G. He’s had progress and it’s looking like it’ll be soon. Barring a setback, he’ll be back.”
Southwest Notes: Pelicans Trade Rumors, McCollum, Hawkins, Morant, Smart
Reacting to a report that the Pelicans have made most of their roster available in the trade market, head coach Willie Green said he’d address the rumors with the team at the appropriate time.
“Eventually, we’ll have some discussions on what’s true and what’s not true,” Green told Rod Walker of the New Orleans Times Picayune. “But for the most part, we try to block out any noise, any distractions. We’ve got a lot to focus on without that. Our focus is on coming in every day with the right perspective, getting after it at practice, locking in to our film work and getting prepared for our games. Some of the rumors and some of the things we are hearing are out of our control. We’ll do the best that we can to continue communicating with our group.”
Veteran guard CJ McCollum, one of the players who could be on the move, understands why there is so much trade buzz around the team.
“Obviously we aren’t doing well,” McCollum said. “So teams are going to be circling like sharks to try to figure out who they can poach. Our team may be entertaining trades, may not be entertaining trades. Who knows?”
We have more from the Southwest Division:
- Jordan Hawkins (lumbar spine annular fissure) could return to action tonight for the Pelicans against Houston. He was upgraded to questionable on Wednesday’s official injury report, according to a team press release. The second-year guard has missed the last eight games. Jose Alvarado (left hamstring strain), Brandon Ingram (left ankle sprain), Karlo Matkovic (low back disc protrusion), Daniel Theis (personal reasons) and Zion Williamson (left hamstring strain) remain out.
- The Grizzlies could be without two prominent guards against Golden State tonight. Ja Morant is listed as questionable with left shoulder soreness, while Marcus Smart is doubtful due to lower back soreness, the team’s PR department tweets.
- Smart has been coming off the bench, but he’s been getting crunch time minutes. That has helped the Grizzlies guard accept his new role, he told Mark Medina of Sportskeeda. “At the end of the day, you want to be on the court,” he said. “You want to be on the court in the moment of the game that matters the most. That’s the goal. As long as I’m in those moments, I’m not really complaining. I think my resume speaks for itself that it shouldn’t even be a question on whether I’m going to be in those moments or not. But like I said, I can just control what I can control.”
Thunder Notes: NBA Cup Loss, Daigneault, Dieng, Williams
The Thunder, who claimed the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference last season and hold that spot again through their first 25 games this season, are still considered the strong betting favorites to represent the West in the NBA Finals.
However, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN writes, the Thunder’s small market and “low-key nature” mean they’re often not treated like a powerhouse — they’re not one of the 10 teams playing on Christmas Day next Wednesday, for instance. Thunder head of basketball operations Sam Presti has said the club has to “earn our arrival” and the players have conveyed that same sentiment.
“We’re a young team and a lot of times in the league you have to earn your stripes, you really don’t get given anything,” guard Alex Caruso. “For us, it isn’t about how loud you are. It’s about getting the job done.”
Here’s more on the 20-5 Thunder:
- Oklahoma City had a chance to showcase its talent on a national stage in Tuesday’s NBA Cup championship, but laid an egg, shooting just 33.7% from the field and 15.6% on three-pointers en route to just 81 points in a blowout loss to Milwaukee. All three marks were season lows, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN. While forward Jalen Williams said after the game that he thought the Thunder got plenty of good looks, head coach Mark Daigneault wasn’t willing to simply chalk up the club’s underwhelming performance to bad luck. “I never look at it as like, we just missed shots,” Daigneault said, per MacMahon. “I could have done a better job shaking us free at different times in that game, but we can learn from it.”
- Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman suggests that Tuesday’s dud in front of a national audience should serve as motivation for the Thunder as they look to secure their hold on the No. 1 spot in the West.
- Thunder forward Ousmane Dieng, who fractured a finger on his right hand while playing in the G League in November, no longer shows up on the team’s injury report and should be available on Thursday in Orlando, tweets Rylan Stiles of SI.com. The former No. 11 overall pick has played limited minutes in 16 appearances off the bench for Oklahoma City this season.
- Jalen Williams, whose 21.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 2.0 steals per game this season are all career highs, continues to establish himself as a legitimate No. 2 option on a title-contending team, lining himself up for a massive payday when he becomes eligible for a rookie scale extension in July 2025, writes Shakeia Taylor of The Athletic. “It would be stupid for me to give him a ceiling,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said of his rising star teammate. “I think he can go as far as he wants to, as far as he takes it.”
Injury Notes: Doncic, Mavs, Barnes, Poeltl, Beal, Wizards, Harris
Luka Doncic (left heel contusion) has been ruled out for the Mavericks‘ game vs. the Clippers on Thursday, while Kyrie Irving (right shoulder soreness) is questionable to play, writes Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal (Substack link).
There was some good news on the injury front for Dallas, however, as neither Naji Marshall nor Maxi Kleber is on the injury report for Thursday’s game. Marshall has missed five of the Mavs’ past six games while battling an illness; Kleber was unavailable for the past three due to an illness and a rib injury.
- Raptors forward Scottie Barnes was originally expected to miss “several weeks” due to an ankle sprain, but just 10 days after sustaining that injury, he has been upgraded to questionable for Thursday’s game against Brooklyn after fully participating in Wednesday’s practice (Twitter links via Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca). “I’m so happy that it wasn’t as serious as I thought it was going to be,” Barnes said. In other Raptors injury news, starting center Jakob Poeltl is considered day-to-day with a bilateral groin strain and will miss Thursday’s contest.
- After missing the Suns‘ past two games with swelling in his right knee, star guard Bradley Beal “did everything” in practice on Wednesday and the team is “hopeful” he’ll be able to play Thursday against Indiana, according to head coach Mike Budenholzer (story via Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic). Beal has been listed as probable to suit up.
- Wizards guards Malcolm Brogdon, Kyshawn George, and Corey Kispert aren’t on the injury report for Thursday’s game vs. Charlotte and should be available to play, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Brogdon has been out since December 5 due to a hamstring strain, while both George and Kispert have been recovering from left ankle sprains since Dec. 3.
- Magic guard Gary Harris, who has been unavailable since November 25 due to a left hamstring strain, has been upgraded to questionable for Thursday’s game vs. Oklahoma City, notes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). Harris has been averaging 17.2 minutes per game in his first 16 outings of the season before suffering that injury in his 17th appearance.
Central Notes: Bucks, LaVine, Reed, LeVert
Perhaps wary of the fate of the Lakers and Pacers, who both struggled in the immediate aftermath of the finale of last season’s inaugural in-season tournament, the Bucks‘ post-game celebration after winning Tuesday’s NBA Cup final was decidedly muted, writes Sam Amick of The Athletic.
The NBA had set up a champagne celebration room for the winner of Tuesday’s game, but it went untouched following Milwaukee’s victory (Twitter link via Ben Golliver of The Washington Post).
“The NBA puts a big tournament in front of you, and you go win that motherf—-er. It’s as simple as that,” forward/center Bobby Portis said as part of a larger quote. “They put something in front of you. You set a goal. You chop wood every day. Carry water. And eventually, you get here and you get a medal around your neck. … And then you get back to work on Thursday, which is what we signed up for. It’s part of the gig.”
Here’s more from the Central:
- Citing a source, Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times says there’s “light momentum” on the possibility of the Nuggets pursuing a trade for Bulls star Zach LaVine. According to Cowley, Chicago’s front office remains steadfast in its desire to avoid adding draft capital to move off LaVine’s maximum-salary contract, though the team is open to potential pick swaps.
- Paul Reed‘s new one-year deal with the Pistons is fully guaranteed, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype confirms (via Twitter). Reed, who was waived and then re-signed for financial flexibility, will receive the prorated portion of the veteran’s minimum.
- He hasn’t received much, if any, national recognition, but Caris LeVert is playing arguably the best — and most efficient — basketball of his career for the Cavaliers and is making a strong case for Sixth Man of the Year consideration. Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscriber link) has the story and quotes on LeVert, who will be an unrestricted free agent in 2025.
Heat Notes: Smith, Butler, Expectations
Heat guard Dru Smith, who is on a two-way contract, has become a key rotation player over the past six games in part due to his impressive defense, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. The Heat have been substantially better defensively when Smith has been on the court compared to when he’s not.
“I’m trying to bring as much energy as I can on the defensive end, be disruptive and just try to make inspiring plays on the defensive end,” said Smith, who turns 27 on Dec. 30. “And also just take open shots when they’re there. I want to try to do a better job of getting guys easier looks on the offensive end, getting Bam [Adebayo] some easy baskets in pick-and-rolls, things like that. But mainly when I check in, just trying to breathe life into everybody and bring good energy and try to turn a couple games around.”
As Chiang observes, Smith’s traditional statistics over the six-game stretch have been solid if unspectacular, with the third-year guard averaging 7.8 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 2.2 APG and 2.0 SPG on .485/.529/.750 shooting in 25.3 MPG. But Smith, who is a candidate to be promoted to a standard contract, has drawn praise from his All-Star teammates and his head coach for his heady play.
“When you find guys that just do winning things on both ends of the court over and over and over — that can be consistent to that — that’s a superpower in this league,” Spoelstra said of Smith. “Everybody is searching for that, but he’s kind of the glue that fits, and he can make any unit work — the second unit, the starters. So that’s that thing I say, make me watch, make me play you and then make me for sure not even think about putting somebody else in there.”
Here’s more on the Heat:
- In an interview with Cyro Asseo de Choch of HoopsHype, Smith admitted his NBA journey has been frustrating at times, particularly the 2022/23 campaign, when he was signed and waived multiple times while on two-way deals with Miami. “Yeah, no, there were plenty of days of frustration,” Smith said. “Just questioning, is this what I’m supposed to be doing? You feel like you’re chasing something that just keeps getting further away. But it was all worth it and just continue. But I’m still in the same position. I’m still here on a two-way, still trying to do the same thing. So, keeping that in mind at the same time, always trying to appreciate my opportunities that I get. I try to take advantage of them to the best of my ability.”
- Appearing on NBA Today on Tuesday (Twitter video link), Shams Charania of ESPN referred to Jimmy Butler‘s situation with the Heat as “fluid.” According to Charania, Miami doesn’t feel any urgency to move Butler, but the front office is still open to offers for the star forward, with the Suns and Warriors believed to be his top choices if he does switch teams before the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
- Aside from Pelle Larsson and Tyler Herro, just about every other player on the Heat’s standard roster has fallen short of expectations this season, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, who explains why that has been bad for the team’s on-court product and its ability to improve through trades.
Clippers Notes: Leonard, Jones, Mann
Clippers star Kawhi Leonard has yet to make his season debut due to a right knee injury. After participating in the non-contact portions of practices last week, the 33-year-old forward was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice, including contact drills, according to head coach Tyronn Lue (Twitter link via Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times).
While it’s obviously a positive sign that Leonard has progressed to the point where he’s able to do contact work, he will remain out for the team’s three-game road trip, which starts Thursday in Dallas and ends Monday in Memphis. Leonard will travel with the team, however, per Lue.
Here’s more on the Clippers:
- Los Angeles will have multiple days off after Monday’s game, with the team’s next contest coming vs. Golden State on December 27. Law Murray of The Athletic predicts that Leonard will make his season debut on that date, given his current rate of progress (Twitter link). If that comes to fruition, the veteran forward will have missed the first 30 games of the 2024/25 season.
- Derrick Jones is ahead of schedule in his return timeline, as the 27-year-old was a limited practice participant on Wednesday, per Murray (Twitter link). Los Angeles announced eight days ago that Jones, who is recovering from a right hamstring strain, would be reevaluated in two weeks, but he’s officially questionable for Thursday’s matchup with the Mavs, tweets Turner. A free agent addition over the offseason, the high-flying Jones has started all 25 games in which he’s appeared this season.
- Another injured Clipper, swingman Terance Mann, was able to do some “shooting and some ball-handling stuff” in Wednesday’s practice, according to Lue (Twitter link via Murray). As Murray notes, Mann had surgery to repair a broken finger on his non-shooting hand a couple weeks ago and is set to be reevaluated next week. Murray suggests Mann could return in a couple weeks during another three-game road trip (Dec. 30 – Jan. 2).
Hawks’ Okongwu Out At Least Four Games With Knee Inflammation
Center Onyeka Okongwu is dealing with left knee inflammation and will be sidelined for at least four games, the Hawks announced in a press release (Twitter link). According to the team, Okongwu will be reevaluated in about a week.
The Hawks will be in San Antonio on Thursday for a road game against the Spurs before returning home to Atlanta for a four-game homestand. Okongwu will miss Thursday’s contest and the first three home games of that stretch (vs. Memphis, Minnesota and Chicago). The earliest he could return would be next Saturday vs. Miami.
Although he’s technically a backup, Okongwu has actually averaged more minutes per game (23.8) than starting center Clint Capela (23.0) in 2024/25. Through 25 games, Okongwu has averaged 11.3 points and 6.6 rebounds, with a shooting line of .542/.244/.779 (he’s a low-volume three-point shooter, having converted 10-of-41 looks from long distance).
Hopefully it’s just a temporary setback for Okongwu, who missed several weeks of action last season due to a left big toe sprain. A former lottery pick (No. 6 overall in 2020), the 24-year-old big man is considered part of Atlanta’s young core. Okongwu’s four-year, $62MM rookie scale extension, which he signed in October 2023, began this season.
Unfortunately, Okongwu isn’t the only player on the roster dealing with an injury, as the Hawks announced earlier on Wednesday that second-year guard Kobe Bufkin will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery.
Reserve big man Larry Nance Jr. will likely rejoin Atlanta’s rotation with Okongwu out.
Western Notes: T. Jones, Schröder, Lyles, Thybulle
Spurs point guard Tre Jones has been cleared to return to action on Thursday vs. Atlanta after missing the team’s previous six games due to a left shoulder sprain, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). Having also been sidelined for 12 games earlier this season with an ankle injury, Jones admitted it has been a challenging fall.
“I’ve never sat out this much in this season before, so it’s definitely been tough,” Jones said. “But the guys have kept my spirits up. My family at home have kept my spirits up.”
Jones isn’t the only Spurs regular who has battled injuries this season. Jeremy Sochan, Devin Vassell, Victor Wembanyama, Keldon Johnson, and Zach Collins have all missed multiple games. Assuming San Antonio has better health luck going forward, Jones is optimistic about the team’s rest-of-season outlook.
“We feel like we’re in a great position right now,” Jones said. “We haven’t been necessarily healthy this year either yet, so hopefully we can maintain our health moving forward and we can continue to build. We’ve been throwing out a lot of different lineups and that can work to your advantage when guys are knowing that their name is going to be called. But, at the same time, we want to be able to kind of settle into our roles and what we expected coming into the season and be healthy.”
Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- Dennis Schröder and Draymond Green have had their share of on-court battles in the past, including in Game 6 of the second-round 2023 playoff series when they were hit with double technicals before Schröder’s Lakers eliminated Green’s Warriors (Twitter video link). But there’s no bad blood between them — in fact, playing with Green is one thing Schröder is looking forward to most as he prepares for his Warriors debut, per Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. “I feel really, really excited playing with Draymond,” Schröder said. “Like you guys seen, we were going at it. I knew him before. People were saying, ‘How’s it going to work?’ But we got a good relationship, even before that.”
- Kings forward Trey Lyles is confident he’ll be cleared to return on Thursday vs. the Lakers, according to Sean Cunningham of FOX 40 Sacramento (Twitter video link). Lyles has been on the shelf since November 25 due to a right calf strain.
- Before he scored 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting vs. Portland on Sunday, Suns point guard Tyus Jones earned praise from Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, who referred to the situation in Phoenix as “tailor-made” for the veteran guard, according to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “He’s a big shot-maker when put in those positions, but he knows who he is, more than anything,” Billups said. “He knows who he’s playing with, and that’s what they needed. He’s also a very scrappy defender. He doesn’t get a lot of credit for that, but a lot of teams attack him and go after him, and you got a fight on your hands when you do that. I’m proud and happy for Ty and (the Suns) did it right when they got him.”
- Billups provided a minor injury update on Matisse Thybulle on Tuesday, indicating that the injured Trail Blazers forward is doing stand-still shooting on the court but isn’t cleared for contact yet, tweets Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report. Thybulle’s season debut was delayed due to a right knee issue and he subsequently sprained his right ankle during the rehab process.
Hawks Waive Two-Way Player Seth Lundy
DECEMBER 18: The Hawks have officially waived Lundy, the team announced today in a press release.
DECEMBER 17: The Hawks are waiving two-way guard Seth Lundy, HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto tweets.
Lundy has been sidelined with a left ankle injury and hasn’t appeared in any Hawks games this season.
The 2023 second-round pick out of Penn State saw action in nine games for Atlanta last season but spent the bulk of his time with the College Park Skyhawks in the G League. In those 25 NBAGL games (23 starts), the 6’4″ Lundy averaged 20.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 blocks in 32.6 minutes per contest. He shot 46.2% from the field and 40% on 3-point attempts.
Lundy signed a two-way deal prior to last season and was re-signed to another two-way contract in July. The 24-year-old underwent ankle surgery in mid-May.
The left ankle procedure removed a medial ankle bone spur. He re-aggravated his ankle while working out before a Hawks preseason game. He will be reevaluated in January, according to Scotto.