Sixers Notes: Embiid, Officiating, George, Yabusele
The Sixers insist they did their due diligence throughout the year before handing Joel Embiid a three-year max extension in September, according to Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports (Twitter link). Following up on an ESPN report that the team and Embiid sought out a half-dozen medical opinions about his health prior to the extension, Neubeck details that a group of five-to-seven doctors did extensive testing and evaluating of Embiid’s left knee during three periods — following his injury in January, before his return late in the regular season, and again before the extension.
While there was a wide range of outcomes based on those evaluations, the opinions were generally optimistic that his knee issues were manageable. The staff and management was surprised when Embiid missed the opener and subsequent games while he continued to rehab and ramp up. The crux of the problem is that only Embiid knows how the knee feels on a daily basis and it has taken a mental toll on him.
Coach Nick Nurse said Embiid could suit up for Friday’s game against Orlando, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. Embiid has only appeared in four games so far this fall.
We have more on the Sixers:
- Nurse and the team were upset about two no-calls in the late stages of their four-point loss to Orlando on Wednesday. One of those could have sent Tyrese Maxey to the foul line with a chance to tie after he missed a 3-point attempt. “That’s what the video showed — it should have been three free throws. It would have been a great play, right?” Nurse told Pompey and other media members.
- Paul George, who is managing his own knee issues, sat out the tail end of a back-to-back after posting 29 points and eight assists in a win over Charlotte on Tuesday. George is expecting to play on Friday and his improved health and production is a source of optimism for the club, Pompey writes. “He had the ball a lot and, he made some late. I think he gives our guys confidence, especially Tyrese, to have somebody else that he can go back and forth with a little bit. I think that gives us a lot of confidence,” Nurse said.
- Guerschon Yabusele hadn’t been in the league since the 2018/19 season until Philadelphia signed him as a free agent during the offseason. Kelly Oubre Jr. said it was immediately apparent that NBA teams made a mistake by not bringing him back from Europe sooner. “From day one when we got together as a team, I noticed that there’s no way he should have been out of the league,” Oubre told Pompey. “But at the end of the day, he’s back and he’s taken full advantage of his opportunity, and he’ll be here for a long time.”
Khris Middleton To Make Season Debut On Friday
The Bucks have been rolling along lately, winning nine of their last 11 despite Wednesday’s loss to Atlanta. They’ll now add longtime starter Khris Middleton to the mix.
Middleton will make his season debut at Boston on Friday, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets. Middleton was medically cleared to return to action on Nov. 20 after undergoing surgery on both ankles during the offseason. At that time, Middleton didn’t feel quite ready to suit up and has since continued the rehab process, working on improving his conditioning and increasing his comfort level on his surgically repaired ankles.
Middleton, a three-time All-Star, has dealt with a myriad of health issues in recent seasons. He only appeared in 33 games two seasons ago and 55 regular season contests last season.
In those last two seasons, Middleton has averaged 15.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 0.8 steals per game — all far cries from his numbers during his final All-Star season, 2021/22. He registered averages of 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.2 steals per night that season, with .443/.373/.890 shooting splits.
Middleton holds a $34MM player option on his contract for next season and it’s hard to see him passing that up unless he shows he can recapture that All-Star form. The Bucks probably don’t need him to perform at that level but he’ll boost their depth at the wing position and will take some of the scoring burden off Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.
In his absence, Taurean Prince has started at small forward and provided a steady three-point threat. Prince is averaging 9.0 points on 6.3 shot attempts per game, knocking down 55.6% of his long-range attempts.
It’ll be interesting to see what Doc Rivers does in terms of his lineup. Middleton came off the bench 14 times two seasons ago but has generally been a fixture in the starting five since he was acquired from Detroit in 2013.
Bulls Notes: Williams, Giddey, White, Ball, LaVine
Bulls forward Patrick Williams, who has been out since November 18 due to inflammation in his surgically repaired left foot, won’t play in either game of the team’s back-to-back set on Thursday (in San Antonio) and Friday (vs. Indiana), tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network.
Although Williams didn’t practice with the team on Wednesday, he did work out individually, according to head coach Billy Donovan, who said the 23-year-old’s window to potentially return opens next week.
Given that he has yet to practice, Williams may not be ready to go for Sunday’s game vs. Philadelphia, but the Bulls will have four days off after that before hosting the Hornets next Friday — it sounds like he could return for that contest.
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- While he admits that his first 22 games this season have been “up and down,” Josh Giddey said he’s doing his best to help the Bulls in any way he can and isn’t thinking about trying to make the team look good for its decision to give up Alex Caruso for him over the summer, as Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic relays. “Anytime you get traded for a player like (Caruso), I mean, there was a lot of talk about it, whether it was a good trade or a bad trade,” Giddey said. “I don’t buy too much into that. I’m confident in myself and what I can do. These guys make it easy for me to play. I’m not trying to come in here and be anything more than myself. Find ways I can fit in and make this group better.”
- Coby White will miss a second consecutive game on Thursday due to a left ankle sprain, per Johnson (Twitter links), though Mayberry suggests White shouldn’t be out for an extended period. Another Bulls guard, Lonzo Ball, has been ruled out for Thursday’s game, according to Johnson, but that’s just a case of the team managing his usage in a back-to-back — the plan is to have him active on Friday against the Pacers.
- Coming off a season-ending injury, surrounded by trade rumors, and facing questions about the size of contract, Zach LaVine could easily have come into camp as a disgruntled star this fall, but the Bulls continue to be impressed by his positive attitude, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. LaVine told reporters on Wednesday that he’s “in a really good spot mentally,” which hasn’t gone unnoticed by head coach Billy Donovan. “Whatever his frustrations were, they were,” Donovan said. “But he’s been able to digest that, go through that himself mentally, and get to the place he is now. I really respect everything he’s done. … He’s in a really good headspace.”
- LaVine added that he’s enjoyed being called upon for more challenging defensive assignments this season, as Cowley notes. “This year has opened my eyes up a little bit to where you look at guys that I watched: Kobe (Bryant), Michael (Jordan), D-Wade (Dwyane Wade), and it’s like, ‘I’ve always been in great shape, but OK, you have to be in top-tier … strong too.'” LaVine said. “Yeah, it takes a little bit away (from the offense), but mentally that’s where you have to dig deep and see how much you want it. I like taking on those challenges right now.”
De’Anthony Melton Undergoes Surgery On Partial ACL Tear
Warriors guard De’Anthony Melton underwent surgery on Wednesday in Los Angeles to repair a partially torn ACL in his left knee, the team announced in a press release.
It was initially reported over two weeks ago that Melton would undergo season-ending surgery to address a left ACL injury, though this is the first time the team referred to that injury as a partial tear.
According to the Warriors, the plan is for Melton to begin rehabilitation on the knee in the coming weeks. He’s expected to make a full recovery prior to the start of the 2025/26 season.
The next step for the Warriors will likely be to apply for a disabled player exception, a salary cap exception that can be awarded to teams who lose a player to a season-ending injury. It would be worth approximately $6.4MM, half of Melton’s $12,822,000 salary.
Although Golden State could theoretically use that exception to sign a free agent to a one-year contract or to acquire (via trade or waiver claim) a player on an expiring deal, the team is less than $600K away from its hard cap, so taking on additional salary isn’t really an option at this point. Assuming the Warriors are granted a disabled player exception, they’d have to move off some salary to make use of it.
Melton’s $12.8MM expiring contract could also be used as a salary-matching piece in a trade prior to the February 6 deadline. If the Warriors go that route before using their disabled player exception, they would forfeit that exception.
Southeast Notes: Daniels, Ware, Wizards, Williams
Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, acquired as part of Atlanta’s blockbuster trade that shipped Dejounte Murray to the Pelicans, put the defensive clamps on Murray during the former Hawk’s first game against his old team, writes Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Murray was limited to shooting just 2-of-15 from the field against the Hawks on Monday, while Daniels notched 19 points on 50% field goal shooting.
Murray was the subject of frequent boos from the Atlanta home crowd, and couldn’t get much offense cooking against Daniels. Daniels has emerged as the defense-first backcourt partner for Trae Young that the Hawks had hoped Murray would be when they first acquired him from the Spurs in 2022.
The 21-year-old Daniels is in the third season of his rookie-scale deal, and seems to be fitting in nicely with his new squad. So far this year, the 6’8″ guard is averaging a career-best 13.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 3.0 assists per night.
There’s more out of the Southeast Division:
- The Heat sent rookie center Kel’el Ware to their G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, this week for the first time this season, reports Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Ware has played a grand total of 69 minutes across Miami’s first 20 contests this year, so his stint with the Skyforce will give him a chance for increased reps. The seven-footer was selected with the No. 15 pick out of Indiana.
- The Wizards‘ epic losing streak has reached 15 games, approaching the team’s franchise record, writes Varun Shankar of The Washington Post. Washington tied that record, 16 straight defeats, just last season. The Wizards could potentially match or even break that tally in the coming days. Washington next plays Dallas (Thursday), Denver (Saturday), and Memphis (Sunday), all Western Conference squads with winning records.
- Hornets center Mark Williams suited up for his first game in almost a year, a 110-104 loss to Philadelphia on Tuesday. Williams had been sidelined with a lingering strained tendon in his left foot this fall after missing most of last season due to a back issue. Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer writes that the big moment signified a positive step forward for the young center. Notching just nine minutes of action, the seven-foot big man scored four points on 1-of-4 shooting from the floor and 2-of-2 shooting from the foul line. He also pulled down three rebounds and blocked one shot.
Knicks Notes: R. Brunson, Sims, Payne, Kolek, Achiuwa
The NBA has closed its inquiry into the Knicks‘ decision to promote assistant coach Rick Brunson, sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
Brunson, the father of All-NBA New York point guard Jalen Brunson, was recently promoted to a lead assistant gig under head coach Tom Thibodeau. Rick Brunson earned his new role with the Knicks during the same offseason his son inked a four-year, $157MM contract extension to stay with the team long-term.
Jalen Brunson would have been eligible for a five-year maximum contract worth an estimated $269MM had he waited to reach free agency this summer, so the belief is that the NBA was poking around to make sure there was no cap circumvention involved in Rick’s promotion and raise.
The elder Brunson, a former league journeyman guard, has been a coach since 2007 and has served on staffs in Denver, Chicago, Charlotte and Minnesota. He has been working under Thibodeau in New York since 2022, the same summer Jalen joined the team as a free agent.
There’s more out of New York:
- Knicks reserve center Jericho Sims is becoming an underappreciated defender, thanks in large part to his athletic upside and abilities as a rim protector, contends Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. Sims is limiting opposing players to connecting on just 33% of their buckets within six feet of the rack, Bondy notes. By contrast, All-Star starter Karl-Anthony Towns is allowing players he’s matched up against to make 73.2% of their takes from the same area. “He’s really worked hard at it,” Thibodeau said of Sims. “Very athletic. Great feet. And making the right decision at the right time. His athleticism is through the roof. He can react very quickly. And you need that. The rim protection is huge.”
- Backup Knicks point guard Cameron Payne, a former lottery pick, is hoping to not have to head back overseas anytime soon, writes James L. Edwards of The Athletic. “The biggest experience was me getting waived and going overseas,” Payne said. “I was just like, ‘I will not ever go back overseas.’ I credit the little things like getting on the floor, the things people don’t do. I take that to the game every night. I don’t want to go back overseas. That’s my identity. I’m going to play my heart out and do whatever I have to do to help the team win.” Payne played for Chinese club Shanxi Loongs in 2019, but ultimately returned stateside to play in the G League. He reasserted himself as an NBA player during a productive stint with the Suns that began in 2020 and has been a journeyman backup ever since. Payne’s solid ball control and efficient three-point shooting have made him a staple in Thibodeau’s rotation.
- Elsewhere in the same Edwards article, rookie Knicks guard Tyler Kolek discussed what it was like to prepare for the draft over the summer. “In the summertime, what I’m working on is whatever I think I need to get better at,” Kolek said. “I feel like every summer I’ve improved, going back to college and even high school. Even during this year, I’m still learning. I’m just trying to gain the trust of my teammates and trust of my coaches and pull as much as I can from.” The 6’1″ guard was selected with the No. 34 pick out of Marquette by the Trail Blazers, who traded his draft rights to the Knicks. Kolek has played sparingly this season, averaging 3.1 points per game on .417/.429/1.000 shooting splits in 14 outings.
- Knicks reserve big man Precious Achiuwa, who has missed the entire season so far with a left hamstring strain, has seen his injury status upgraded to questionable for this time this year for Thursday’s game vs. Charlotte, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter). Achiuwa re-signed a one-year, $6MM with the Knicks this offseason.
Clippers’ Terance Mann To Undergo Surgery On Broken Finger
Clippers swingman Terance Mann will undergo surgery to repair the fractured middle finger on his left hand, a team source tells Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The 6’5″ wing incurred the injury during a 127-105 Tuesday victory over the Trail Blazers.
Mann, 28, is expected to be reassessed in three weeks, Murray adds. Murray notes that the ailment afflicts his non-shooting hand.
The Los Angeles Times’ Broderick Turner tweets that Mann is scheduled to go under the knife on Thursday.
Across 23 healthy bouts this season, including 11 starts, the Florida State product is averaging 6.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.0 steals per night, with a .438/.340/.667 shooting line.
Despite not having All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard available for a single game this season while the former two-time Finals MVP deals with right knee inflammation, L.A. has gotten off to an impressive 14-9 start. Former MVP James Harden has been playing more like his Rockets-era self, while guard Norman Powell is scoring at a career clip.
Mann remains a solid two-way wing for the club, though he has yet to take a leap this season in line with the improvements of Harden or Powell. To wit, this season’s numbers are actually below Mann’s career averages of 8.0 PPG, 3.6 RPG and 1.9 APG.
Turner adds that Clippers forward Kobe Brown is set to be reevaluated in two weeks as he recovers from a herniated disc injury.
Grizzlies’ GG Jackson Out Another 6-8 Weeks For Surgery Recovery
Grizzlies forward GG Jackson II has missed Memphis’ entire 2024/25 season thus far while recuperating from an offseason surgery to treat a broken fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot.
Memphis announced on September 4 that the 6’9″ second-year pro would be reevaluated in three months. Having apparently completed that evaluation, the team believes he needs more time to recuperate.
According to a Grizzlies announcement (Twitter link), the team anticipates Jackson will be back on the hardwood in six-to-eight weeks.
Jackson was selected with the No. 45 overall pick out of South Carolina in 2023. He was joining a Grizzlies club then coming off two straight 50-win seasons, so he wasn’t initially expected to make much of a rotational impact. But Memphis was bit hard by the injury bug last year.
In the frontcourt, injuries to Brandon Clarke, then-Grizzlies center Steven Adams, and Jaren Jackson Jr. opened up a rotational role for GG Jackson. Across 48 healthy contests last year, he averaged 14.6 points on .428/.357/.752 shooting splits, plus 4.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He was named to the 2024 All-Rookie Second Team for his efforts.
This season, even amidst further injury woes, the Grizzlies have managed to cobble together a far more robust start. Memphis is currently the No. 4 seed in the competitive Western Conference, with a 14-8 record.
Nuggets’ Vlatko Cancar Undergoes Knee Surgery
Nuggets reserve forward Vlatko Cancar had a successful left knee scope this week, Denver announced Wednesday (Twitter link). He will be reexamined in eight weeks.
The 6’8″ vet played in just four games this fall for the 11-8 Nuggets, averaging 2.3 points on 57.1% shooting from the floor, including 50% shooting from deep. He had been serving as the third-string, small-ball center behind MVP Nikola Jokic and new free agency acquisition Dario Saric to open the season.
As Bennett Durando of The Denver Post notes, Cancar has been away from the team since injuring the knee in a 122-110 victory over Memphis on November 19. The ailment was initially referred to as a sprain, but Cancar underwent further medical consultation and ultimately landed on an arthroscopic procedure as the best path forward.
The Nuggets selected the Slovenian standout with the No. 49 pick in 2017, though he remained overseas until 2019/20.
Cancar became a full-time rotation player in 2022/23, his best NBA season to date. The 27-year-old subsequently missed the entire ’23/24 season with a torn ACL in the same knee, and has since fallen further down head coach Michael Malone‘s depth chart.
A recovery timeline of eight-plus weeks means Cancar’s comeback will likely happen after this year’s February 6 NBA trade deadline. The forward/center is currently inked to a one-year, $2.1MM veteran’s minimum deal, meaning his money owed would be an afterthought in any deal. Still, he could be added as outgoing money to match salaries as part of a larger transaction for the capped-out Nuggets.
Warriors Notes: Kerr, Green, Podziemski, Waters, Rotation
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr screamed at the officiating crew before leaving the court after the team’s 119-115 loss in Denver on Tuesday night, explaining in his post-game media session that he believed the referees failed to notice Nuggets guard Christian Braun calling for a timeout in the game’s final seconds with his team out of timeouts (Twitter video link).
“Braun called a timeout,” Kerr said, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “He dove on the floor, he rolled over. Everybody saw it except for the three guys we hire to do the games, and that makes me angry. That’s a technical foul. They don’t have a timeout left. We shoot a free throw, we get the ball, we got a chance to win the game. (The referees) all told me they didn’t see it. … It’s up to the referees to see (it). That’s why we have three of them. Somebody’s got to see it. So yeah, that made me mad.”
Crew chief Tyler Ford told a pool reporter after the game that Braun “never fully or clearly” signaled for a timeout, a ruling Braun agreed with.
“No,” Braun said when asked if he had called timeout. “It might’ve looked like it maybe. I was fumbling the ball on the ground a little bit. My hands moved, but the refs didn’t call it.”
It was a frustrating finish for the Warriors, who were up by 11 points with just over six minutes left and still held a six-point lead with two-and-a-half minutes to play. While Kerr strongly disagreed with the officials’ decision on the Braun play in the final seconds, he acknowledged that it shouldn’t have gotten to that point.
“That’s not why we lost,” Kerr said. “We lost because we didn’t close. Again. This is like the fifth game in a row where we’ve — maybe not all five (losses) — but most of these games in this stretch, we’re not closing, we’re not executing, we’re not making good decisions, and it’s got to improve.”
Here’s more on the Warriors:
- Draymond Green, who missed Tuesday’s game due to left calf tightness, was scheduled to undergo an MRI on Wednesday, according to Kerr (story via Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle). As Andy Lindquist of NBC Sports Bay Area relays, Green said on his podcast that he’s a little concerned about the calf issue, but is confident in the medical staff and believes they’re getting ahead of it before it gets any worse.
- Kerr expressed frustration with Brandin Podziemski during and after Tuesday’s loss for a pair of reckless turnovers – including one in a 5-on-4 situation in transition – and committing a third-quarter foul on a jump shooter, as Anthony Slater of The Athletic details. “I love Brandin,” Kerr said after addressing a couple specific plays that bothered him. “Hell of a player. Hell of a future ahead of him. But I hope he watches this clip because he needs to hear it. He’s gotta be a smart, tough, great decision-maker. He’s very capable of it. That’s his next step.”
- Even with Green sidelined, Kerr trimmed his rotation a little on Tuesday, with Lindy Waters earning his first DNP-CD since November 12 after having logged double-digit minutes in each of Golden State’s past eight games. As Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area notes, it was a productive night for both Jonathan Kuminga, who scored 19 points as part of the starting lineup, as well as Moses Moody. After playing a season-low three minutes on Saturday, Moody scored 13 points in nearly 21 minutes and had a positive plus/minus rating.