Spurs Notes: Paul, Barnes, Wembanyama, Vassell, Bassey
The experience the Spurs gained when they added Chris Paul in free agency is paying off in close games, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. With the team’s three top scorers sidelined by injuries, Paul took over in the fourth quarter against Utah on Thursday night, going 4-of-6 from the field and dishing out three assists. McDonald notes that the Spurs are 3-3 in crunch-time games after losing a league-high 18 times in those situations last season, and Paul has been the obvious difference.
“I know clock management, I know the plays, the shots that I want to get,” Paul said. “The last three, four minutes of a game is a totally different game. You got a package that you want to go to. If your defense sucked all game long, you sort of lock in. That’s what I try to bring to the team.”
Paul has shown an ability to take over games throughout his 20 NBA seasons, with teammate Harrison Barnes calling him “one of the great closers in the game that we still have playing.” He has also brought a competitive edge to his young teammates that extends beyond the court.
“I think from Day 1, the way we approached things during the summer, the way we compete and practice on the plane, if it’s Connect 4, if it’s ping pong, whatever you do, you do it to win,” Paul said. “There’s competitive guys in that locker room.”
There’s more from San Antonio:
- Barnes, who was acquired in an offseason trade, has also played an important role in the Spurs’ surprising 8-8 start, McDonald adds. He posted season highs in scoring twice this week, pouring in 20 points Tuesday and 25 last night. “I think the beauty of our team is different guys can step up on any given night,” he said. “Before these last two games, I think I was shooting six shots a game. So I think the coaches just talked about being aggressive.”
- Victor Wembanyama and Devin Vassell are expected to return soon after missing the past three games with what interim coach Mitch Johnson called “minor” knee injuries, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. Wembanyama bruised his right knee in a collision in a November 15 game. Vassell sat out that contest due to injury management following offseason foot surgery, but hasn’t been able to play since then due to pain in his left knee. “They are both trending in the right way, working on the court,” Johnson said. “Just need to get that final clearance.”
[Update: Both Wembanyama and Vassell are listed as questionable to play on Saturday.]
- Charles Bassey is enjoying the chance to play while Wembanyama is out of action, Orsborn adds. The third-string center has averaged 23 minutes over the past three games and posted 11 points, eight rebounds and six blocks Thursday night. “It is not easy playing behind Victor, with what he does offensively, what he does defensively, obviously how many minutes he gets,” Barnes said. “So for 11 games or however many games it was to be out of the rotation, not playing, and to come in now to be able to have these type of games to give us this lift, those are big things.”
Atlantic Notes: Simmons, Claxton, Barnes, Embiid
Ben Simmons can expect the same reception he usually gets when the Nets travel to Philadelphia tonight, but it’s unlikely to affect him, writes Dan Martin of The New York Post. Simmons, who called the hostile reaction “funny” during his last trip to Philly in February, is finally healthy and contributing on a regular basis, Martin notes. He had 10 points and nine rebounds in Tuesday’s win over Charlotte, which marked the first time this season he has been available for three straight games.
“He likes playing and he’s a competitor,’’ Cam Thomas said of Simmons. “He likes that kind of atmosphere. I’m sure he’ll be ready to go and have an impact and do everything for us on the court.”
There has been speculation that Simmons might be moved by the trade deadline because of his expiring $40.3MM contract. However, the Nets have been better than expected with a 6-9 record that has them in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race. If they decide to pursue a postseason spot ahead of a high draft pick, Simmons could play an important role in helping them win.
“It’s just his presence in that last game, his physicality, his engagement,’’ coach Jordi Fernandez said. “I was very excited to see that. I told him that because he impacted the rest of the group. It’s that energy of, ‘I want to play with him because he’s gonna give me the ball. He’s gonna be physical on defense.’”
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- After missing three games with a back strain, Nets center Nic Claxton plans to return tonight, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post (Twitter link). Claxton told reporters that he’s been experiencing pain in his back since the offseason, and it might be a while before he’s fully healthy.
- Scottie Barnes said he “felt great” Thursday night as he returned to the Raptors‘ lineup after missing 11 games with an orbital bone fracture, per Michael Grange of Sportsnet. Grange points out that Barnes replaced Davion Mitchell in the starting lineup and might have the skills to be successful as an oversized point guard even when Immanuel Quickley returns from his injury. “The way he shares the ball, the way he’s playing unselfishly — I don’t want Scottie Barnes to be anything outside of Scottie Barnes,” coach Darko Rajakovic said. “I just need him to be the best version of himself. And when he’s that, he’s really raising the people around him to another level. He’s making everybody around him better.”
- Sixers center Joel Embiid attended this morning’s shootaround but wasn’t an active participant, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Embiid is listed as questionable due to the left knee injury management that has affected his availability since the start of the season.
Mavericks Notes: Irving, Thompson, Doncic’s Injury, NBA Cup
Even though he holds a player option for next season, it’s unlikely Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving will test the free agent market, Tim MacMahon of ESPN said on the latest edition of the Hoops Collective podcast (hat tip to RealGM). MacMahon expects the two sides to reach a long-term agreement that will keep Irving in Dallas.
“He has a $42MM player option,” MacMahon said. “Look, I’m not telling you exactly how it will work out. My guess is he’ll end up declining that player option. But what I would say is I would be extremely surprised if Kyrie Irving is not in Dallas for the next few years. The Mavericks have already demonstrated that they are willing to pay, not market value, because they could have quote unquote won the negotiations with him. Remember, they were criticized for giving him the contract because nobody else (would).”
After a few uneasy years in Boston and Brooklyn, Irving has found stability since the Mavericks traded for him midway through the 2022/23 season. He’s continuing to perform at an All-Star level at age 32, averaging 24.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists through 14 games, and he has an important role off the court as well.
“The point is they have demonstrated, ‘We value you and we will pay you how much we value you within the ability to have a little bit of wiggle room financially,'” MacMahon added. “They are going to put a big number on the table for him. He has been extremely happy in Dallas. They are extremely happy with him. He’s the leader of this locker room. That’s unquestioned. And, right now, he is playing as well as he ever has. Certainly as efficient as he ever has.”
There’s more from Dallas:
- Boating enthusiast Klay Thompson admits he’s encountered some “rough waters” during his first season with the Mavs, but he’s confident things will get better, per Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoop Journal. In 15 games, Thompson is averaging 14.0 PPG while shooting 39.7% from the field and 37% from beyond the arc, but he knows the team is counting on more from him. “I’m so grateful to be playing every night and to be healthy,” Thompson said. “That’s why the shooting nights when I’m off don’t bother me as much anymore. It’s a long season, and I know there are bigger nights ahead.”
- The Mavericks will need production from other players while Luka Doncic is sidelined with a wrist injury, notes Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News. It’s already the fourth injury for Doncic since training camp opened, and he has been ruled out for at least the next four games. “Pretty much just the same mindset: Next man up,” Daniel Gafford said. “Just be ready to guard the best man or just have the best man guard you. It’s going to be a lot on Kai (Irving). It’s going to be a lot on Klay, but I feel like we’ve done a pretty good job whenever Luka has been off the floor.”
- Even though points matter for tie-breakers in the NBA Cup, Dallas didn’t try to keep scoring in the closing seconds of Tuesday’s 132-91 win over New Orleans, according to Dwain Price of Mavs.com. “That’s not what this game is all about or the tournament is all about,” coach Jason Kidd said. “It’s playing the game the right way. They’ve got a lot of injuries over there. We’re not trying to embarrass anybody. We’re not looking to score again. We scored 132 points. That’s enough points.”
Celtics Notes: Brissett, Grousbeck, Porzingis, Tillman
Free agent forward Oshae Brissett joined his former Celtics teammates for Thursday’s visit to the White House, writes Brian Robb of MassLive. Brissett was part of the 2024 championship team after signing a two-year contract with a $2.58MM player option in the summer of 2023. He declined that option over the offseason in hopes of getting a better offer from another team, but that still hasn’t happened.
“It was fun to see Oshae Brissett here,” vice president of basketball operations Mike Warren said. “He hasn’t been around this year but it was cool for him. We got him his ring. That was a neat moment.”
Brissett had a smaller role than he expected last year, averaging 3.7 points and 2.9 rebounds in 55 games while playing a career-low 11.5 minutes per night. However, Robb points out that he still has a strong bond with his ex-teammates. Boston is carrying an open roster spot, but Robb states that it’s unlikely to be filled before the trade deadline and there’s no guarantee Brissett will still be available.
“It was really cool to see Brissy again and have him be here and a part of it,” Derrick White said. “Obviously, he was a big member of our team last year, so it was great to have him here and get the old gang back together.”
There’s more on the Celtics:
- Following the ceremony, owner Wyc Grousbeck reiterated his plan to remain in his position as governor of the team after the impending sale is completed, per Souichi Terada of MassLive. “I don’t have any comments on the sale process,” Grousbeck told reporters. “It’s underway. There’s a lot of interest. That is one comment, I guess, but I’d like to limit it to that. The plan is that I will stay for three more years. That’s what’s laid out. We’ll go from there.”
- Kristaps Porzingis may be able to beat the December return date that was projected after offseason surgery, Robb states in a separate story. Team sources told Robb that Porzingis felt good after participating in a scrimmage with G League Maine Celtics this week, and teammates who viewed the session liked what they saw. “I was able to watch a little bit of it,” Al Horford said. “Just excited, excited to see KP out there. He’s doing more and more stuff with us in practice and just really encouraging. Obviously we don’t know when he’s returning, but we’re just excited to see him doing more stuff with us, being more involved playing and getting his legs underneath him.”
- Head coach Joe Mazzulla was impressed that Xavier Tillman volunteered to take part in the scrimmage to give Porzingis some NBA-level competition, Robb adds. Tillman’s playing time has been severely reduced recently as he has fallen behind Neemias Queta in the Celtics’ big-man rotation. “He just wanted to play,” Mazzulla said. “It was an opportunity to play, and he’s obviously done a great job of just doing what we’ve asked him to do, and so it’s a credit to him. We got a lot of respect for him for making that decision. He’s got to keep getting better and better. He’s brought great character, a great work ethic to it.”
Magic Notes: Wagner, Banchero, Carter, Caldwell-Pope
Injured Magic star Paolo Banchero had a prophetic line about teammate Franz Wagner in the latest edition of the ongoing diary he’s compiling with Marc J. Spears of Andscape.
“Franz is a pretty naturally, calculated, conservative guy,” Banchero stated. “He never wants to do too much, or he never wants to take the shot over the double team. With me being out, he’s had to do that and he’s done amazing. He’s really stepping into that role, and that’s what you want to see. He just got a max contract over the summer. And he’s playing better than what you’d expect.”
A few hours after the diary was released on Thursday, Wagner grabbed the spotlight in a 119-118 win over the Lakers, capping a late rally with an outrageous game-winning three-pointer. Wagner also posted a career-high 11 assists, along with six rebounds and four steals to give L.A. its first home loss of the season, writes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel.
“Down two, you never just want to settle for a shot but the way they were playing me … I do work on my off-the-dribble three a lot and you work on that for those moments,” Wagner said. “I stepped into it with confidence and it felt really good.”
There were concerns that Orlando’s season might spiral out of control after Banchero suffered a torn right oblique three weeks ago. Instead, the team is 7-1 in its last eight games, and Wagner has averaged 28.1 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.9 assists during that time, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic.
“He’s not afraid of big moments,” coach Jamahl Mosley told reporters after the game (Twitter link from Beede). “And that’s what we’ve asked him to do. I could not be happier for this team but for him, who puts in such an amazing amount of work. To see that fall … This group, they battle.”
There’s more on the Magic:
- Elsewhere in his diary, Banchero talks about having to deal with a major injury for the first time since he started playing basketball. “It’s been an interesting experience just trying to keep myself engaged mentally,” he said. “Obviously, [the] team’s still doing great. I’ve been happy with the way they’ve been playing. But for me, [it’s about] trying to stay sharp mentally and even though I can’t do much physically, just try to do every little thing I can — whether it’s what I eat, how much sleep I’m getting — whatever I can do to speed up the process and get back whenever the time is right. But also, sooner than later, hopefully.”
- Injured center Wendell Carter Jr. missed his 10th straight game Thursday, but he’s showing signs of progress, Beede adds in his game story. Carter was able to participate in part of Tuesday’s practice and was listed as questionable for both games in L.A. “Dell’s [been] able to do a little bit of court work the past couple days,” Mosley said. “He’s progressing according to exactly how he feels, and then we’re just going to keep going off of that.”
- According to Beede, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope missed last night’s game because he returned home for the birth of his fifth child.
Atlantic Notes: Nets Veterans, Wilson, Brunson, Embiid, Sixers, Barnes, More
Multiple Nets veterans have been the subjects of trade speculation since their arrival to the team. Cameron Johnson, Bojan Bogdanovic, Ben Simmons, Dennis Schröder and Dorian Finney-Smith are among the players who have been involved in trade rumors for some time, with fourth-year guard Cam Thomas joining them this week.
A few of those players are off to career-best starts for a team that’s been surprisingly competitive at 6-9. Johnson exploded for 34 points on Tuesday, as Net Income at NetsDaily writes.
“All three of us have been traded before. It’s not something that we’re worried about,” Johnson said in explaining why he, Finney-Smith and Schröder are playing well. “There’s a lot of speculation about a lot of things, all of our whole careers, my whole career, speculation about this, speculation about that. You hear a lot of outside noise. There’s no sense in letting it bother you. There’s no sense in letting it get to you. Let the future be the future. Control what you can control now.
“The other thing is, we enjoy our group, playing together. I think we are a group that gets along well with each other, and that’s important. So as long as we’re together, we’re gonna fight for wins, and we’re gonna enjoy representing Brooklyn. And whatever the future holds, it holds.”
Johnson’s been happy with how the organization has handled him during his time there, according to Net Income. While the plan is still to select a cornerstone in the upcoming draft and Johnson seems more likely than not be traded, he’s making an impact alongside the other vets.
“Honestly, he’s just been hooping,” teammate Trendon Watford. “I’m not surprised by it. Cam’s a great player, so I’m not surprised by it at all. Last year was last year. He obviously heard all the noise and took it with a grain of salt and came back. And now he’s doing what we know CJ can do.”
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- With Thomas missing Tuesday’s game against the Hornets due to a minor injury, second-year forward Jalen Wilson stepped up, according to Andrew Crane of the New York Post. Wilson scored a team-high 17 points in the Nets win while making a career-high five three-pointers. The Nets hold a team option for next season on Wilson, who could see his role increase if some of Brooklyn’s veterans are moved ahead of the trade deadline.
- Jalen Brunson didn’t want to specifically address the rumors that the NBA is looking into his father’s promotion to lead assistant on the Knicks‘ coaching staff. However, according to the New York Post’s Stefan Bondy, he had a message for anyone questioning Rick Brunson‘s coaching credentials. “He’s more than qualified for that position,” Jalen said. “He’s a person who has been around the NBA for a long time, who has been around [Tom Thibodeau] for longer than he’s been around the NBA. I think he understands the business, I think he understands the game, I think he understands the head coach. So he’s more than qualified. Look at the way he’s taught me and raised me and how I’ve seen him impact others in all different levels of basketball — high school, college, pros.“
- Following a report Thursday morning indicated Joel Embiid wasn’t happy that a Sixers team-only meeting was leaked, Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer writes on Marc Stein’s Substack that one source told him on Tuesday that Embiid would be “furious” about the leak and would try to find the culprit. Fischer adds that Tyrese Maxey getting involved and holding Embiid accountable is a silver lining to the situation. Tobias Harris used to serve as a veteran voice and leader for the Sixers, so it was crucial that someone else step up now that Harris is in Detroit.
- Fischer also confirmed that Embiid has preferred to hold some level of control over what the Sixers‘ injury report lists him as and how it’s reported.
- Raptors star Scottie Barnes played on Thursday for the first time in nearly a month. Following reporting that he would be on a minutes restriction, Barnes ended the night with 17 points in 27 minutes of action. The Raptors did not start a traditional point guard, opting for Barnes over Davion Mitchell, who moved to the bench. Mitchell being moved to the second unit meant Ochai Agbaji maintained his starting role, TSN’s Josh Lewenberg notes (Twitter link). Barnes hadn’t played since Oct. 28, missing 11 games during that time.
- Ja’Kobe Walter, who missed the last six games for the Raptors, was available to play on Thursday, Sportsnet.ca’s Blake Murphy tweets. The 2024 19th overall pick also missed some time at the beginning of the season due to injury.
Pelicans Notes: Green, Rotation, Potential Trades, Lakers Pick, McCollum, Hawkins
The Pelicans, who had hoped to reach or surpass the 50-win mark this season, are spiraling due to injuries. At 4-12, there’s been some outside speculation that head coach Willie Green‘s job could be in jeopardy, William Guillory of The Athletic writes. However, Guillory doesn’t believe Green is in danger of losing his position, given that the team’s current starters include Brandon Boston Jr., Javonte Green and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl — Green wasn’t on the team until late August, while Boston was added the day before the regular season tipped off.
Even though those players have had some nice individual moments, it’s important to consider that Zion Williamson, Herbert Jones, CJ McCollum and Dejounte Murray — most of the starting lineup — have all missed extensive time. Key rotation pieces like Trey Murphy, Jordan Hawkins and Jose Alvarado have also suffered injuries.
While the injuries are a large part of the Pelicans’ slow start, Guillory opines that Green could still be making some improvements as the schedule wears on. New Orleans has struggled in close games this year. However, Guillory doesn’t believe that any one person should be shouldering the blame, including the medical staff.
We have more from the Pelicans:
- Once the Pelicans get healthier, they’ll have some key rotation decisions to make. Rookie Yves Missi has been a bright spot this season and should be under consideration for the starting center spot when the team is healthy, Guillory suggests in the same mailbag. Still, Green might opt to close some games with Robinson-Earl or Jones (when he’s healthy) for spacing purposes. Guillory also sees Boston continuing to see some minutes when the team is closer to 100%. The fourth-year swingman has been impressive, averaging 12.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game on a two-way contract.
- While there still isn’t much smoke regarding a potential Brandon Ingram trade despite his pending unrestricted free agent status, Guillory expects any potential trade involving Ingram to bring back a starting-caliber center. Still, Guillory writes that it doesn’t make much sense to move assets when the team is far from playoff contention at the moment.
- In light of Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht exploding for 37 points, it’s easy to wonder if the Pelicans regret giving up that pick. The Pelicans had the rights to Los Angeles’s No. 17 overall pick (used on Knecht), but chose to defer the selection to a 2025 unprotected first-rounder. Guillory points out that adding another first-round salary would’ve been difficult, given the Pelicans’ current financial situation, and that punting on the selection and hoping the Lakers would have a rough season seemed like a better idea than taking another swing in an uncertain class. The Lakers are 10-4 and third in the Western Conference, so it looks like that first-round pick may end up being worse than No. 17.
- McCollum was upgraded to doubtful on the Pelicans’ latest injury report, according to Guillory (Twitter link). Hawkins was also upgraded to questionable for Friday’s game. It looks like both players will return from injury in the coming days, which lines up with recent reporting.
- In case you missed it, Elfrid Payton, signed to a contract on Wednesday, played well in his debut with the Pelicans.
Heat Notes: Lineups, Rozier, Robinson, Herro, Tax, Defense
Injuries have forced the Heat to switch up their starting lineup in recent weeks, but it may have been time for a change anyways, as Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald observes that Miami’s season-opening lineup has the worst net rating of any group that has played at least 90 minutes together this season.
The Heat moved Nikola Jovic to the bench earlier this month and Terry Rozier missed Monday’s game against the Sixers due to a foot injury. That prompted coach Erik Spoelstra to start Duncan Robinson, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, Haywood Highsmith and Bam Adebayo, a lineup that holds some serious intrigue for continued use, Chiang writes.
“If you look at the core four and then you add [Highsmith] — he’s been with us since the post-COVID year — those are our most experienced guys in our program,” Spoelstra said. “So they understand exactly what we’re trying to get to. Even though we’ve made some adjustments, they know what our core tenets are.”
While those five players have been playing together for several seasons, that specific lineup had only played two minutes this season until Monday. They didn’t play together at all last year, as several members of Miami’s core dealt with injuries. Despite not having much time on the court together, being around each other during the offseason and practices over the years adds up.
“I mean, there’s a lot of continuity there,” Robinson said. “I guess you say we’ve only played together for [a few] minutes. But I’ve logged a lot of hours with JB, I’ve logged a lot of hours with Bam, H, Tyler. We’ve just been on the court a bunch together — practice, games, walkthroughs, everything. So there’s a lot of familiarity there, regardless of the fact that we’ve only played [a few minutes together]. It doesn’t mean that we don’t have that continuity and that connection.”
The Heat may replace Robinson with Rozier when the latter returns from injury but – pending the results of more time spent on the court for this group – they could also opt to move Rozier to the bench. Miami traded a first round pick and Kyle Lowry for Rozier last season.
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- The two-man duo of Herro and Robinson has been one of the more impressive units for Miami, Chiang writes in the same piece. Herro is shooting 45.2% from three on 9.7 attempts per game while Robinson is shooting 36.6% on 6.8 attempts. Lineups featuring the duo boast an offensive rating of 124.3, which would rank first in the NBA. “I think at this point, they both understand how they can confuse defenses and they’re finding a sense of joy in playing off each other,” Spoelstra said. “… I think they’ve really embraced that. They’ve both grown with their skill set, both grown with their ability to do it as a screener or as a ball-handler or just moving constantly.” Robinson holds an early termination option worth $19.89MM after this season while Herro is under contract for two more seasons after this one.
- The Heat are on track to pay $26.9MM in tax penalties if they don’t trim their payroll before the end of the season, Chiang writes in a separate story. Eric Woolworth, the president of business operations for Miami, recently offered thoughts on the team’s situation on Chris O’Gorman’s “Questions for Cancer Research” podcast (YouTube link). “Nobody wants to pay a luxury tax,” Woolworth said. “Increasingly, it’s super punitive. … Certain teams never pay the tax; they just won’t. I respect that. It’s harder to win if you have that mentality, but I understand either because of market size or philosophy. There are certain teams who don’t seem to mind paying it and are consistently above the tax level and some of those teams have won a lot. And there are teams like us who are sort of opportunistic. … It’s a strategic strike kind of mentality and that’s the way we’ve approached it, and pretty successfully, with three championships and seven Finals appearances. If that’s what it takes to win at any given time, we will go for it. If we can get out [of the tax] and still compete for championships, that’s even better.” Chiang’s sources indicate the Heat are open to making trades at or before the deadline if they can improve the roster.
- Alec Burks, Kevin Love and Dru Smith have been among the players leading the charge for Miami’s defensive improvement in the early part of the season, James Jackson of The Athletic writes. Smith, on a two-way deal, has played strong defense without fouling, while Love’s rebounding has helped the Heat improve in that category.
Central Notes: LaVine, Cavs, Haliburton, Q. Jackson, A. Thompson
The Zach LaVine discourse during the 2024 offseason focused less on what the Bulls guard was capable of doing on the court and more on potential red flags off of it, including his injury history, his sizable contract, and his relationship with head coach Billy Donovan. Speaking to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports earlier this week, LaVine admitted it was impossible to ignore that chatter.
“I heard everything. I read everything,” LaVine said. “Sometimes you gotta take that accountability and put a chip on your shoulder. There’s a lot of things people said I had to prove. I think my résumé speaks for itself, the type of player I am, the type of person I am, but it is what it is. You can always turn some heads.”
While there’s still some skepticism about whether LaVine is worth the $138MM he’s owed from this season through 2026/27, he has done all he can to silence his critics so far this fall, repairing his relationship with Donovan, staying relatively healthy, and playing some of the best basketball of his career. His 51.2% shooting percentage and 43.2% mark on three-pointers would be career highs if he can maintain them, and he has been a more active defender than in past seasons.
As for his contract, LaVine won’t apologize for taking the five-year, maximum-salary offer the Bulls made him in 2021, telling Goodwill that he believes he earned that deal.
“I don’t know,” LaVine said. “It’s not for me to try to make everybody like me. I’m happy for what I got, what I deserved. And some people may not feel that way and you may judge it off that. But regardless, I know who I am and what I’ve done in this league.
“… I’m in a good place and I feel sharp right now,” LaVine added. “Being able to be one of the veteran guys on the team and still being able to do what I do. Help win in any way I can. Defense one day, facilitating, whatever they call for.”
We have more from around the Central:
- The Cavaliers‘ loss on Tuesday to the defending champion Celtics snapped their 15-game win streak to start the season, but the three-point defeat only emboldened the team’s belief in its itself, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required). Chris Mannix of SI.com conveys as similar sentiment, writing that the measuring-stick loss proved the Cavs are for real. Cleveland bounced back with a 28-point blowout of the Pelicans on Wednesday and is now a league-best 16-1.
- Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton continued to struggle on Wednesday, scoring just four points on 1-of-7 shooting as the team was outscored by 28 points in his 30 minutes on the floor, notes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Haliburton, who is in the first season of a five-year, maximum-salary contract, is making just 37.5% of his field goal attempts through 15 games, including 28.4% of his three-pointers. Both would be career lows by a wide margin.
- The Pacers dropped to 6-9 with Wednesday’s loss to Houston, but it wasn’t all bad news for Indiana. Two-way player Quenton Jackson made his first career start and made an immediate impact, scoring 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting. “Quenton Jackson is an example of where we need everybody’s spirit to be,” head coach Rick Carlisle said, per Dopirak. “The guy is flying all over the place, playing at a ridiculously high level of intensity and unselfishness and totally surrendering to the team, you know? … For us, we just have to work at adopting that on a full-time basis and really being there for each other.”
- The Pistons aren’t rushing the return of Ausar Thompson, who has yet to make his season debut after dealing with a blood clot issue, but Zach LaVine‘s performance in a Bulls win over Detroit on Monday was a reminder of how the team could benefit from reintegrating a defensive stopper like Thompson, says Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. “He’s a guy who can eliminate the other team’s best players,” J.B. Bickerstaff said. “Any time you add that to the system and the scheme and the way guys have bought into it, it just gives you an added boost. He can switch, he can guard multiple positions. We’re excited to have him back for sure.” Thompson is listed as doubtful to play in Charlotte on Thursday but is believed to be close to returning.
Grizzlies’ Vince Williams To Miss At Least Four Weeks With Ankle Sprain
Grizzlies wing Vince Williams Jr. suffered a Grade 3 right ankle sprain and will be reevaluated in four weeks, the team announced on Thursday. Williams suffered the injury in the second quarter of Memphis’ game against the Nuggets on Tuesday.
It’s a tough blow for Williams, who missed the first 12 games of the season due to a stress reaction in his left leg. The former VCU player made his return to an NBA court on Friday. He averaged 5.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists in his two-and-a-half healthy games.
Upon his return from that injury, Williams was reinserted into the rotation with Memphis dealing with absences throughout the lineup, including Ja Morant, Zach Edey and GG Jackson.
While the Grizzlies are healthier than they were last season and their depth is improved, it’s still a tough blow for a team looking to contend for a playoff spot. Memphis is 9-7 and ranks eighth in the Western Conference entering Thursday’s action.
Williams, in his third year in the league, spent the first season-and-a-half of his time in the NBA on a two-way contract. Moving up the depth chart last season as a result of Memphis’ injuries, Williams thrived and earned a contract promotion, averaging 10.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game while shooting 44.6% from the field and 37.8% from three.
With Williams out and John Konchar missing Wednesday’s game with an illness, two-way player Cam Spencer played just under 10 minutes in his NBA debut upon returning from an ankle injury. He may continue to see spot minutes with Williams out while the Grizzlies get healthier.