Pacific Notes: LeBron, Davis, Suns, Warriors, Curry
An unexpected development for the slumping Lakers has been losing the minutes when their two stars are on the court together, writes Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. Going into Tuesday night, L.A. was being outscored by 5.5 points per 100 possessions in the 365 minutes that LeBron James and Anthony Davis were both in the game.
There are several glaring issues with the James-Davis lineups, Price adds. No matter who else is paired with them, the groups haven’t rebounded well or forced enough turnovers, and they’re letting opponents shoot high percentages from the field.
The inability to gain an advantage when their best players are sharing the court has contributed to the Lakers’ recent slowdown after a 10-4 start, but coach J.J. Redick doesn’t consider it to be a cause for alarm.
“Not concerned, not concerned at all,” Redick said. “It’s more diving deeper into the why and trying to self-correct that.”
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Tuesday’s return of Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal has the Suns looking like an elite team again, observes Doug Haller of The Athletic. Durant and Beal sparked a 27-point rout of the Lakers in an NBA Cup game and provided a reminder of how good the team looked during its 8-1 start to the season. “I just wanted to be out there with the guys,” said Durant, who missed seven games with a strained left calf. “Wanted to travel. When you’re injured, you’re still a part of the team, you’re still on the roster, but there’s a level of separation you have (with guys who are playing). I just wanted to be part of the group again.”
- Defense has become an issue for the Warriors in their last two games, notes Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. They let a 17-point second half lead slip away in Saturday’s loss to San Antonio, then squandered an 18-point lead Monday against Brooklyn. The Warriors ranked 25th in team defense in those two games and allowed an atrocious 154.2 points per 100 possessions in the combined fourth quarters. Defensive issues were the focus of Tuesday’s practice. “Our communication wasn’t good and we didn’t rotate and trap the box how we normally would,” Kevon Looney said of Monday’s game. “(Assistant coach and defensive coordinator Jerry Stackhouse) talks about us being early, being aggressive and I think we were a half-second late on everything.”
- After being listed as questionable on Tuesday, Warriors guard Stephen Curry will sit out tonight’s game against Oklahoma City with bilateral knee pain, Gordon adds in a separate story. This will be Curry’s fourth missed game of the season, and Golden State has won the first three.
Sixers Notes: Embiid, Simmons, Meeting, Practice
Before agreeing to a three-year, maximum-salary extension during the 2024 offseason, the Sixers and star center Joel Embiid sought a half-dozen medical opinions on the big man’s health, sources tell Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.
According to Shelburne, all of those experts consulted by the Sixers and Embiid expressed a belief that his left knee issue could be managed by “a combination of strategic rest and procedures to promote healing.” Embiid has been undergoing those procedures since last season, Shelburne adds.
However, despite optimism that Embiid would be ready to start the 2024/25 season, his surgically repaired knee remained a problem and postponed his fall debut. The former MVP has appeared in just four of 16 games so far this season and is currently sidelined again due to what the team refers to on its injury report as left knee injury management.
Shelburne’s ESPN feature includes several more interesting tidbits on the 76ers. Here are a few of them, plus one more Sixers-related note:
- Sixers team sources believe it will take at least 33 wins to be in a play-in position in the Eastern Conference this spring, Shelburne writes. While it certainly wouldn’t be ideal for Philadelphia to enter the postseason as the No. 10 seed – which would mean winning two play-in games just to earn a first-round matchup with the East’s No. 1 team – that projection gives the 3-13 club time to turn things around. The 76ers would have to go just 30-36 the rest of the way to reach 33 total wins.
- Former Sixers star and current Nets guard Ben Simmons reached out to Embiid “and others” last summer in the hopes of mending fences, sources tell ESPN. As Shelburne notes, Simmons’ relationships with Embiid and other members of the Sixers organization soured due to his trade request and holdout during his final year in Philadelphia.
- While players and coaches came out of last Monday’s team meeting feeling like it was a productive session, those positive vibes were negated by the fact that details about the meeting leaked to the media almost instantly, Shelburne writes, “further exacerbating the tension and lack of trust” in the locker room.
- Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer explores how the Sixers are doing their best to “stay together” during their early-season struggles and climb out of the 3-13 hole they’ve dug themselves. Tuesday’s practice included a 5-on-5 scrimmage and was more competitive than a typical session on a day before a game, according to Ricky Council.
- In case you missed it, Embiid, Paul George, and Kyle Lowry will all be unavailable for Wednesday’s game vs. Houston. Caleb Martin is considered questionable ahead of pre-game warmups.
Kings Sign Jae Crowder
NOVEMBER 27: The Kings have officially signed Crowder, the team announced today in a press release.
Assuming Crowder signed for one year and the veteran’s minimum, which is highly likely, his deal would pay him $2,620,232 for the full season, with Sacramento taking on a cap hit of $1,655,619.
NOVEMBER 26: The Kings are close to signing veteran forward Jae Crowder, Shams Charania of ESPN tweets.
Sacramento worked out Crowder back in September. Crowder spent a season-and-a-half with the Bucks beginning in February 2023 and averaged 6.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 50 games last season while making 25 starts.
Crowder has appeared in over 800 regular season games since making his NBA debut in 2012. The 34-year-old has averaged 9.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 25.0 minutes per contest across 12 seasons, posting a shooting line of .419/.348/.777. In his prime years, he played a key three-and-D role on contending teams in Boston, Cleveland, Utah, Miami, and Phoenix.
The Kings have an open roster spot and are $3.7MM below the luxury tax line, Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter).
The news regarding Crowder coincides with an injury update from the club. Trey Lyles has a Grade 1 right calf strain after undergoing an MRI, James Ham of The Kings Beat relays (Twitter link). He’ll be reevaluated in three-to-four weeks.
Lyles has appeared in 18 games this season, including two starts. He’s averaging 5.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in 19.6 minutes per game.
Sacramento has lost its last four games, dropping to 8-10 on the season.
Southeast Notes: Carter, Suggs, Bridges, Risacher, Sarr
Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. will return to action on Wednesday against Chicago after missing the past 12 games due to left foot plantar fasciitis, tweets Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Head coach Jamahl Mosley told reporters that Carter, who last played on November 3, will be on a minutes limit.
“He’s definitely going to be on a minutes (restriction) after sitting out that long. You’re going to have a time frame of 14-16 minutes just to see where he is,” Mosley said. “Sometimes those guys, coming from (injury), the conditioning side is a big piece. But we want to make sure we slowly walk it back in vs. just ramping up right away.”
The Magic played some of their best basketball early in the season during the six games in which Carter was available. His +10.4 on-court net rating is the second-best mark among the team’s regulars.
Here’s more from around the Southeast:
- Carter’s foot injury plays a central role in a story from Jason Quick of The Athletic, who takes a closer look at the bond between the Magic big man and teammate Jalen Suggs. Frustrated in that Nov. 3 contest by suffering another injury after setting a goal of playing all 82 games this season, Carter broke down in tears on Orlando’s bench and was consoled by Suggs, his closest friend on the team. “I’m glad he cried, glad he let out tears,” Suggs said. “I think it’s important to have those moments. In those moments you know you are still human. And it shows he is one with himself. In that space, in front of 17,000 fans, he was still authentically him.”
- Hornets forward Miles Bridges, sidelined since last Tuesday due to a right knee bone bruise, has resumed individual on-court work, the team announced today (via Twitter). Bridges returned just 10 days after sustaining a similar injury earlier this month, but the team may be more cautious this time around, given that he aggravated the issue in his third game back.
- Zaccharie Risacher wasn’t a typical no-brainer No. 1 pick, but it looks like he should be a good fit for the Hawks, according to Jared Weiss of The Athletic, who examines Risacher’s first few weeks in the NBA and shares early impressions from his head coach and teammates. As Weiss relays, Quin Snyder has lauded Risacher’s work ethic and mentality, while teammate Larry Nance Jr. praised the rookie’s willingness to embrace a team-first role. “I think he’s got a high ceiling, but I think it’s going to take time,” general manager Landry Fields said of the 19-year-old forward. “He’s got a longer runway.”
- This year’s No. 2 overall pick, Wizards center Alex Sarr, had his best offensive game of the season on Tuesday vs. Chicago, with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-5 from three-point range. Varun Shankar of The Washington Post has the story on the silver lining of the Wizards’ 12th straight loss, noting that veteran guard Malcolm Brogdon has offered the rookie some tips on his outside shot.
Southwest Notes: Murray, Payton, Aldama, Tate
After a report earlier in the week stated that Dejounte Murray was targeting Wednesday for his return from a fractured hand, the Pelicans confirmed it today, announcing (via Twitter) that the team’s most significant offseason addition will be available to play vs. Toronto.
As Will Guillory of The Athletic writes, New Orleans prioritized Murray over the summer because the team wanted to add a true floor general, something the roster had lacked in recent years. Although Murray struggled to score efficiently in his first and only regular season game with the Pelicans last month, making just 4-of-15 shots from the field, he racked up 10 assists and the offense had a more “natural order” when he was running the show, according to Guillory.
While the Pelicans have been missing several players in recent weeks due to injuries, getting a play-maker like Murray back represents a crucial step toward establishing an identity and improving an offense that ranks 27th in the NBA with a 106.8 offensive rating.
“It’s contagious,” head coach Willie Green said. “When you have guys like that who are willing to get off the basketball — they’re looking to get you quality looks — guys are running more. They’re cutting more. Now, they’re sharing the ball because there’s a standard that’s been set.”
We have more from around the Southwest:
- With Murray unavailable, point guard Elfrid Payton has started the past three games for the Pelicans after signing a non-guaranteed contract a week ago. It had been two-and-a-half years since Payton last played in a regular season NBA game, but he has been impressive — New Orleans has been better with him on the court than off it in all three games and he handed out a career-high 21 assists on Monday in Indiana. Christian Clark of NOLA.com has the story on Payton’s huge night on Monday, while Rod Walker of NOLA.com takes a look at how the Lousiana native has stepped up for his hometown team.
- Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama didn’t reach an agreement on a rookie scale extension prior to this season and is now on track to reach restricted free agency in 2025. Speaking to Nacho Duque of Marca, Aldama – who is averaging a career-best 12.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per game – said he’s making an effort not to play “selfish” basketball in his contract year and hopes to work out a new deal with the Grizzlies next summer. “Memphis is my home,” he said. “I feel like we have a very good relationship, and I hope it lasts for many more years.”
- Kelly Iko and Danny Leroux of The Athletic take a look at where three Southwest teams – the Rockets, Spurs, and Grizzlies – stand from a salary cap perspective. Within the story, Iko reports that “a few teams” have inquired this season about the availability of veteran Houston forward Jae’Sean Tate, who is on an expiring $7.56MM contract and has fallen out of the club’s rotation due to the emergence of other players. According to Iko, the Rockets would be seeking second-round draft capital in return for Tate.
Nets’ Cam Thomas Out 3-4 Weeks With Hamstring Strain
Nets guard Cam Thomas is expected to miss the next three-to-four weeks with a left hamstring strain, sources tell ESPN’s Shams Charania.
As we detailed earlier today, Thomas, who has also recently dealt with an illness and a sore back, was removed in the third quarter of Monday’s game vs. Golden State and had been ruled out for Wednesday’s contest in Phoenix due to what the team initially referred to as left hamstring soreness.
Thomas, 23, has ranked among the NBA’s scoring leaders in the first few weeks of the 2024/25 season, averaging a career-high 24.7 points to go along with 3.4 assists and 3.2 rebounds in 33.4 minutes per game across 17 outings (all starts).
Perhaps most importantly, he’s scoring more efficiently than ever, knocking down 46.1% attempts from the floor and 38.9% of his three-pointers — both marks would be the best of his career.
The 27th overall pick in the 2021 draft, Thomas is in the fourth and final year of his rookie contract and will be a restricted free agent during the 2025 offseason after not coming to terms with the Nets on an extension prior to the season.
Brooklyn wants to maximize its cap flexibility next summer, so not extending Thomas early was about keeping the team’s options open and not necessarily a signal that the team doesn’t view the high-scoring guard as part of its future. Still, the belief is that the rebuilding Nets won’t make anyone on their roster untouchable at this season’s trade deadline, and one report this month suggested Thomas is “widely considered to be available.”
Even if Thomas is able to return in just three weeks, he’ll miss Brooklyn’s next eight games. A four-week absence would sideline him through Christmas and cost him 11 contests.
The Nets have a few banged-up players whose availability is in flux, so it’s hard to predict how exactly they’ll cover for Thomas’ absence, but Ziaire Williams, Shake Milton, and Keon Johnson are among the candidates for increased roles.
Confirming Charania’s report on Thomas’ diagnosis, the Nets announced that he’ll be reevaluated in three weeks and also shared updates on a few more injuries (Twitter link via Brian Lewis of The New York Post).
According to the team, Noah Clowney (left ankle sprain) will be reevaluated in two weeks, Jaylen Martin (right knee bone contusion) will be reevaluated in one-to-two weeks, Day’Ron Sharpe (left hamstring strain) is expected to make his season debut within the next week, and Nic Claxton (lower back injury management) has been ruled out for Wednesday’s game and is considered day-to-day.
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NBA Stars Affected By Player Participation Policy In 2024/25
As we outlined earlier this week in a Hoops Rumors glossary entry, the NBA’s player participation policy – instituted in 2023 – is designed to reduce instances of teams resting healthy players during the regular season.
The player participation policy is focused almost exclusively on players considered “stars” and includes rules prohibiting those stars from sitting out NBA Cup games or nationally televised games without an approved reason (including a legitimate injury). A team can also run afoul of the policy if it rests more than one star in the same game, repeatedly rests a star in road games instead of home games, or shuts down a star for an extended period of time.
For the purposes of the policy, the league defines a “star” as a player who has been named to an All-Star or All-NBA team at least once during the prior three seasons.
That means a player who earned an All-Star or All-NBA berth in 2022, 2023, and/or 2024 would be considered a “star” during the 2024/25 season and would be subject to the restrictions of the player participation policy.
Here’s the full list of the players who meet that criteria:
- Trae Young (Hawks)
- Jayson Tatum (Celtics)
- Jaylen Brown (Celtics)
- Jrue Holiday (Celtics) *
- LaMelo Ball (Hornets)
- Zach LaVine (Bulls)
- Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers)
- Jarrett Allen (Cavaliers)
- Darius Garland (Cavaliers)
- Luka Doncic (Mavericks)
- Kyrie Irving (Mavericks)
- Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
- Stephen Curry (Warriors) *
- Draymond Green (Warriors)
- Andrew Wiggins (Warriors)
- Fred VanVleet (Rockets)
- Tyrese Haliburton (Pacers)
- Pascal Siakam (Pacers)
- James Harden (Clippers) *
- Kawhi Leonard (Clippers)
- LeBron James (Lakers) *
- Anthony Davis (Lakers)
- Ja Morant (Grizzlies)
- Jaren Jackson Jr. (Grizzlies)
- Jimmy Butler (Heat) *
- Bam Adebayo (Heat)
- Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
- Damian Lillard (Bucks) **
- Khris Middleton (Bucks)
- Rudy Gobert (Timberwolves)
- Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves)
- Julius Randle (Timberwolves)
- Dejounte Murray (Pelicans)
- Zion Williamson (Pelicans)
- Jalen Brunson (Knicks)
- Karl-Anthony Towns (Knicks)
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder)
- Paolo Banchero (Magic)
- Joel Embiid (Sixers)
- Paul George (Sixers) **
- Tyrese Maxey (Sixers)
- Devin Booker (Suns)
- Kevin Durant (Suns) *
- DeMar DeRozan (Kings) *
- Domantas Sabonis (Kings)
- De’Aaron Fox (Kings)
- Chris Paul (Spurs) *
- Scottie Barnes (Raptors)
- Lauri Markkanen (Jazz)
Note: The players marked with an asterisk (*) were either 35 years old on opening night or have accumulated 34,000+ career regular minutes or 1,000 career regular season and playoff games, making them eligible for pre-approved rest nights during back-to-back sets. Players marked with two asterisks (**) are on track to surpass either the 34,000-minute or 1,000-game mark this season.
A total of 16 teams have multiple players considered “stars” for the purposes of the player participation policy in 2024/25, while just four clubs (the Nets, Pistons, Trail Blazers, and Wizards) don’t have a single player affected.
This group of players could grow following the 2025 All-Star Game. A player who isn’t one of 49 currently listed above would have his name added if he’s selected as an All-Star this season. He would be subject to player participation policy restrictions for games played after All-Star weekend.
At the time of publication, two teams have received fines worth $100K apiece as a result of player participation policy violations this season: the Sixers (Embiid) and the Hawks (Young).
Northwest Notes: Conley, Dillingham, Hartenstein, Sensabaugh, Blazers
The Timberwolves, who fell to 8-9 on the season on Tuesday with a loss to Houston, have a Mike Conley problem, says Fred Katz of The Athletic.
As Katz outlines, Conley was an extremely valuable role player for Minnesota last season, organizing the offense and knocking down a carer-high 44.2% of his three-point attempts. So far this season, the veteran point guard has battled injuries and has seen his shooting percentages drop off to 31.9% from the field and 33.8% from beyond the arc.
Conley’s teammates still perform better on offense when he’s on the court to set them up, per Katz. The club has a +5.5 net rating during the 37-year-old’s 325 minutes this fall, compared to a -0.8 mark in the 501 minutes he hasn’t played. Minnesota has also lost all four games he has missed, so getting him healthy will help. But if the Timberwolves want to make another deep playoff run in 2025, they’ll likely need Conley to serve as a more reliable offensive threat than he has been so far.
As for the Wolves’ options when Conley is unavailable, they’ve tried using Donte DiVincenzo and Nickeil Alexander-Walker in the point guard role, but both players are better fits off the ball, notes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. As Hine writes, the team’s best alternative to Conley at the point may be rookie Rob Dillingham, who enjoyed his best game as a pro on Tuesday, racking up 12 points, seven assists, and five rebounds in 24 minutes of action. Minnesota was a +26 in those minutes.
“He’s been working extremely hard all year,” teammate Julius Randle said of the No. 8 overall pick. “And these past few games he’s got his number called and been ready for his moment.”
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- Isaiah Hartenstein has been an ideal fit in his first two games with the Thunder (both wins), earning praise from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who called Hartenstein a “dream big man for a marquee guy,” according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Gilgeous-Alexander said he watched Hartenstein with the Knicks in the 2024 playoffs and knew he might be available in the offseason, but didn’t actively recruit him or encourage general manager Sam Presti to pursue him. “I leave the front office stuff to Sam,” he said. “Trust him really well. Obviously he reads minds. So I didn’t have to say anything. … We knew as a group and the world kinda knew there was a hole in us as a team last year. I think Isaiah fills that hole very well. Sam did a good job filling it. We are better because of it.”
- The Jazz‘s decision to assign rookie Cody Williams to the G League for a stint with the Salt Lake City Stars should open up regular rotation minutes for second-year forward Brice Sensabaugh, as Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune details. Sensabaugh has had his two best scoring games of the season within the last week vs. the Spurs (18 points last Thursday and 16 points on Tuesday), but Utah still needs more from him on defense and as a rebounder, Larsen writes.
- In a pair of mailbags for his Substack subscribers, Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report tackles several Trail Blazers-related questions, discussing Deni Avdija‘s role, Anfernee Simons‘s trade candidacy, and Shaedon Sharpe‘s ceiling, among other topics. Noting that both Simons and Scoot Henderson are off to slow starts this season, Highkin suggests the conditions aren’t ideal right now for a Simons trade — not only has Simons’ slump limited his trade value, but Henderson’s struggles mean Portland won’t feel comfortable handing the former No. 3 overall pick the keys to the offense.
Injury Notes: Nets, Giannis, Morant, Poole, Hayes
There’s good news and bad news for the Nets on their latest injury report, as Brian Lewis of The New York Post relays. Leading scorer Cam Thomas has been ruled out for Wednesday’s game in Phoenix due to left hamstring soreness. Thomas, who has also dealt with an illness and a sore back as of late, was removed in the third quarter on Monday vs. Golden State to “protect him from himself,” in the words of head coach Jordi Fernandez.
Big man Noah Clowney will join Thomas on the sidelines, having been ruled out for a second straight game due to a left ankle sprain. Brooklyn has yet to provide an update on the results of an MRI Clowney underwent on his injured ankle, Lewis notes.
A banged-up Nets team could get some reinforcements soon, however. According to Lewis, Nic Claxton (lower back soreness), Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle sprain), and Cameron Johnson (right ankle sprain) are all considered questionable to play on Wednesday. Claxton and Finney-Smith each missed Monday’s game, while Johnson exited in the first half.
Ben Simmons is also off the injury report after sitting out on Monday due to lower back injury management.
We have a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:
- Originally listed as probable due to a left calf strain, Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was a late scratch vs. Miami on Tuesday due to swelling in his left knee, per Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. As Owczarski notes, Antetokounmpo had surgery on that knee during the summer of 2023.
- Grizzlies guard Ja Morant played on Monday for the first time since November 6, but he has been ruled out for Wednesday’s game vs. Detroit due to a new injury, a left knee contusion, writes Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Morant downplayed the ailment after the game on Monday: “A little knee to knee. Everybody know I get back up every time. … Quick little stinger, get out the way and just take care of it now.”
- Wizards guard Jordan Poole missed a second straight game on Tuesday due to left hip flexor soreness, per the team (Twitter link). Poole had initially been listed as questionable, so it sounds as if the issue is a day-to-day one rather than one that will keep him sidelined for an extended period.
- In his first game back following a two-week absence due to a right ankle sprain, Lakers center Jaxson Hayes re-aggravated that same ankle injury during the final minute of Tuesday’s loss to Phoenix. He had to be helped to the locker room, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter links), who says the team plans to provide an update on Hayes on Wednesday afternoon.