Northwest Notes: Jones, McDaniels, Blazers, Jazz
After he made just 15-of-48 shots (31.3%) during the Nuggets‘ two losses in Minnesota, Nikola Jokic submitted a more characteristic performance in Game 5 on Monday, racking up a triple-double (27 points, 16 assists, 12 rebounds) while knocking down 9-of-15 field goal attempts.
Perhaps even more importantly, Denver’s supporting cast stepped up in a major way. Jamal Murray scored 24 points, Cameron Johnson had 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting, and – in his second career playoff start – Spencer Jones added 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting to go along with three blocks and three steals.
As Jason Quick of The Athletic and Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (subscription required) detail, Jones began the season on a two-way contract but showed as early as the preseason that he deserved a longer look after playing sparingly as a rookie in 2024/25. Jones ended up starting 37 games and averaging 22.1 minutes per night, and he has emerged as a crucial part of Denver’s lineup in these playoffs with Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson sidelined.
As good as Jones was offensively on Monday, head coach David Adelman wanted to talk after the game about the forward’s defense. Adelman first considered a rotation role for Jones last fall based on the way he guarded Brandon Ingram in a preseason game, and his defensive effort was on display again in Game 5 as he took on the Julius Randle assignment.
“He just competes, man,” Adelman said of Jones, who will be a restricted free agent this offseason. “Randle’s an All-Star. Randle’s a load. And nobody in this room would want to be near Randle in their lives. And (Jones) just stands there and takes the hits.
“I thought he was really good outside of one time (at) not fouling him, either, where he made him take tough contested shots. A couple times, (Randle) got to his right shoulder and he laid the ball in with his left hand. But that’s why he gets paid a ton of money, because he’s a really special player. But the stuff early, he pushed him out. That’s the thing with Randle. If you concede space, just go home. I think Spence did a good job of competing for the spot.”
Here are a few more items of interest from around the Northwest:
- Since calling out Denver’s defense after the Timberwolves‘ Game 2 win, Jaden McDaniels has embraced the villain role and was willing to add more fuel to the fire following Minnesota’s loss on Monday, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “I love this environment, everyone hating me, all the hate’s coming toward me,” McDaniels said of being booed by the Denver faithful. “I love it. I don’t care. I feed into it. It just brings the best out of me. We just ended up losing today, but we’re going to win the next one.”
- As Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report notes (via Twitter), the Trail Blazers‘ two-way players have made the trip to San Antonio for Game 5 on Tuesday. Players on two-way contracts aren’t eligible to play in the postseason, but Portland was the only team not to bring its two-way players on the road during the first two games of a first-round series, with new owner Tom Dundon looking to reduce spending.
- After finishing either 29th or 30th in defensive rating in each of the past three seasons, the Jazz expect former Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. to help on that end of the court in 2025/26. Still, they know they’ll need to do more this offseason to fix one of the league’s worst defenses, according to Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. “Defense is going to be a team-wide goal for us this summer,” president of basketball operations Austin Ainge said. “Every guy’s been told that we’re making a big leap next year defensively. No discussion. It’s going to happen.” Head coach Will Hardy singled out Ace Bailey and Keyonte George as two players he wants to see more from on defense.
Jazz Notes: Hardy, Ainge, JJJ, Bailey, Kessler, Nurkic, Love
The February trade that brought Jaren Jackson Jr. to the Jazz seemed to signal that Utah was on the verge of ending its four-year rebuilding process. However, even with a promising roster featuring Jackson, Lauri Markkanen, Keyonte George and restricted free agent Walker Kessler, the team hasn’t started talking about the playoffs as a goal for next season, writes Kevin Reynolds of The Salt Lake Tribune.
“I think we all want to improve,” coach Will Hardy said. “I think we’re very capable of improving and taking a step forward. How big is that step? I don’t know yet. There’s so many factors that are not in our control as it relates to everybody else, when you start stacking yourselves up.”
Director of basketball operations Austin Ainge was also reluctant to discuss playoff aspirations, preferring to focus on the task of building the roster this summer. The Jazz used up most of their available cap room by adding Jackson, which limits the options for future moves.
“I would say that we made a big move with Jaren,” Ainge said. “We’ll always be aggressive, looking to improve the team. But unless some amazing opportunities present themselves, well, we don’t have tons of cap space that way, right?”
There’s more from Utah:
- Part of the uncertainty stems from the limited availability that Jackson had after the deal, Reynolds states in the same piece. The big man only appeared in three games before undergoing season-ending surgery to remove a growth in his left knee. Jackson spent time at both center and power forward in Memphis, but Hardy didn’t get much of a chance to experiment with how he fits into different lineups. “The clarity is not great,” Hardy said. “I have my ideas. I have plenty of concepts that I think will be very good for him. But I think any coach would tell you, it all looks good on the board. You don’t want to make the team a laboratory, but you do need to test certain things.”
- Ace Bailey will be expected to take on a larger role in his second NBA season, Reynolds adds. The team wants him to add strength over the summer so he can take on more ball-handling responsibilities and become a better perimeter defender. “It’s the weight room, he’s going to live in there,” Ainge said. “Anytime he can bump anyone and make a shot, he makes sure he tells me about that. So he knows he’s going to work really hard to get stronger.”
- The Jazz would like to reach a new deal with Kessler quickly so they can move on to other offseason decisions, according to Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. Free agent big men Jusuf Nurkic and Kevin Love are both hoping to return, Todd adds, but those will ultimately be financial decisions.
- Utah can afford to give Kessler a new contract and sign George to a rookie scale extension without moving into tax territory, Bobby Marks of ESPN states in an offseason overview. Marks also shares his thoughts on the Jazz’s upcoming summer in a YouTube video.
Sixers’ Edgecombe, Kings’ Raynaud Named Rookies Of The Month
Sixers guard VJ Edgecombe has been named the Eastern Conference’s Rookie of the Month for March, while Kings big man Maxime Raynaud has won the award for the Western Conference, the NBA announced today (Twitter link).
Edgecombe’s win prevents Hornets wing Kon Knueppel from achieving a clean sweep of Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month awards this season. Knueppel earned the honor for October/November, December, January, and February. He was among this month’s nominees in the East, along with Wizards forward Will Riley, per the league (Twitter link).
But it’s Edgecombe that claimed the honor after an impressive March in which he averaged 18.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.3 assists in 32.7 minutes per game across 13 outings. He posted a solid .454/.361/.895 shooting line for the month, strengthening his case for a spot on this season’s All-Rookie first team.
Over in the West, Raynaud is the third player to receive Rookie of the Month recognition this season, joining Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (Oct./Nov., Dec., and Jan.) and Spurs guard Dylan Harper (Feb.), both of whom were nominated for the March award along with Jazz forward Ace Bailey.
Injuries to Kings centers Domantas Sabonis and Drew Eubanks have cleared the way for Raynaud to play a significant role in Sacramento’s frontcourt since the All-Star break. In 15 March appearances (all starts), he put up 17.9 PPG, 8.5 RPG, and 1.8 APG on .595/.444/.784 shooting. His most impressive individual stretch came when he had back-to-back 30-point games on March 17 vs. San Antonio and March 19 vs. Philadelphia.
Sixers Notes: McCain, Barlow, Edgecombe, Bailey, Embiid
The Sixers will see a familiar face when Jared McCain returns to Philadelphia tonight, but they don’t anticipate a friendly reunion, at least not on the court, Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes in a subscriber-only story. The second-year guard was traded to the Thunder at last month’s deadline, and his former teammates expect him to make a statement in their first meeting since the deal.
“Jared McCain’s about to try to come kill us,” Trendon Watford said. “We know how that’s about to go.”
McCain was a candidate for All-Rookie honors last year before injuries ended his season after 23 games. After returning from knee and thumb surgeries, it was difficult for him to get regular playing time in a crowded Sixers backcourt and he had a couple of brief stints with the G League team in Delaware.
President of basketball operations Daryl Morey told reporters that he was “selling high” on McCain when he sent him to Oklahoma City in exchange for a collection of draft picks that included a 2026 first-rounder that originally belonged to Houston. Mizell points out that the deal also helped Philadelphia escape the luxury tax.
McCain has become another potent bench weapon in OKC, where he’s averaging 12.3 PPG and shooting 44% from three-point range for the defending champs. McCain was a popular presence in the locker room, Mizell adds, and Sixers players are glad that he’s succeeding.
“That’s our dog,” VJ Edgecombe said. “Everyone still [loves] Jared. I’m pretty sure it’s vice versa. I’m just happy to see him hooping.”
There’s more from Philadelphia:
- The Sixers’ injury list got longer on Saturday when Dominick Barlow was forced out of a game at Utah with a sprained left ankle, Mizell states in a separate story. Head coach Nick Nurse said X-rays were negative, and Barlow was able to walk out of the locker room without any protection on the ankle. He’s listed as doubtful for Monday’s game.
- Edgecombe and Ace Bailey, whom the Sixers were deciding between with their No. 3 pick last June, had their first NBA meeting on Saturday, Mizell adds in another piece. Philadelphia is ecstatic with Edgecombe, who’s in the midst of an outstanding rookie season, but Bailey has also been playing well lately as his minutes have increased. Edgecombe said they became friends during the pre-draft process, but never discussed who might be taken third. “I let him be. He let me be,” Edgecombe said. “And we just congratulated each other on draft night.”
- Joel Embiid will miss another game tonight with a right oblique strain, but there’s some promising news on the star center, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link). Embiid has been conducting on-court workouts, and although he’s still experiencing some pain, he hasn’t suffered any setbacks. He’s played in 33 games this season and has been sidelined since February 26.
Kon Knueppel, Dylan Harper Named Rookies Of The Month
Hornets wing Kon Knueppel has won a fourth consecutive Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month award, the NBA announced today (via Twitter). No other Eastern rookie has earned the honor in 2025/26, as Knueppel has now claimed the award in October/November, December, January, and February.
Knueppel continued to solidify his case for Rookie of the Year recognition by leading Charlotte to an 8-3 record in 11 games in February. He averaged 21.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in 31.5 minutes per game while knocking down more than half of his field goal attempts (50.3%).
Perhaps most impressively, Knueppel made 49-of-101 three-pointers, averaging 4.5 makes per game at a 48.5% clip.
Knueppel had shared Rookie of the Month honors with his former Duke teammate Cooper Flagg three times in a row, but with Flagg sidelined for much of February due to a foot injury, Spurs guard Dylan Harper became the first non-Blue Devil to break through this season, earning the Rookie of the Month award in the West.
Harper’s Spurs didn’t lose a single game in February, going 10-0 when he was active. The No. 2 overall pick registered 12.5 PPG, 4.9 APG, and 3.9 RPG in 25.1 MPG while shooting 55.4% from the floor. San Antonio had a +21.0 net rating during Harper’s 252 minutes on the court in February.
Sixers guard VJ Edgecombe, Wizards forward Will Riley, and Nets guard Nolan Traore were also nominated for Rookie of the Month in the Eastern Conference, while Jazz forward Ace Bailey, Grizzlies guard Javon Small, Kings big man Maxime Raynaud, and Mavericks forward Flagg were the other nominees in the West, per the league (Twitter link).
Northwest Notes: Bailey, Jazz, Nuggets, Cissoko
Ace Bailey knows that not everyone is a fan of his game or his approach to the 2025 draft. However, coaches and players who know him sing a different tune, Kevin Reynolds writes for the Salt Lake City Tribune.
“If anybody calls about Ace Bailey, I f—ing call back right away,” said Steve Pikiell, Bailey’s coach at Rutgers. “I’ve been coaching 42 years, and he’s as good of a kid I’ve had.”
Pikiell adds that he believed that certain teams that had been heavily scouting Bailey and then fell in the lottery might have helped contribute to some of the negative narratives surrounding him on draft night. According to Reynolds, Bailey has rewarded Utah’s faith in him on an interpersonal level.
“He’s such a great kid, man. Off the court, he’s such a joy. On the court, he’s putting it together,” former teammate Kyle Anderson said. “I didn’t pay attention to the noise during the draft process, but I’m glad to see that really hasn’t surfaced.”
While Bailey has learned to fit into Utah’s locker room, the coaching staff has worked to make sure he plays a role that will benefit him the most long-term.
“We want to help him get through this season and be a way better player than when he started,” coach Will Hardy said. “I’m not pro Ace just bombing away to get stats and clicks.”
The strategy seems to be working, as Bailey has played some of his best basketball of late, averaging 15.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game since mid-January.
We have more from around the Northwest Division:
- The Jazz were furious about being fined $500K by the NBA, Tony Jones reports for The Athletic, as they believe they were singled out for a widespread practice among tanking teams of resting players in key situations. Jones writes that while Utah has tanked in recent seasons, they had plans to make at least one substantial win-now trade roughly three years ago, but it fell through when the player’s agent informed them that he would rather play elsewhere.
- The Nuggets currently have a disconcerting trend going: they are falling apart in clutch situations, and it only seems to have gotten worse with Nikola Jokic back, Bennett Durando writes for the Denver Post. Denver is 26th in clutch net rating at -9.9, and the number falls to -19.3 when Jokic is playing. Coach David Adelman acknowledged the issue and said he’s looking to add wrinkles to get Jokic and Jamal Murray easier looks while Aaron Gordon is out and not occupying his usual area in the dunker spot. “We’re trying to maintain who we are, playing the two-man game without the things that matter behind it,” Adelman said. “Like, if we play a two-man game with Aaron Gordon, it’s a very different rotation (in help defense) for teams. So you don’t want to scrap something that you know you’re gonna do (in the playoffs), and you’re presupposing that those guys are gonna be out there. … We have to figure out a way to finish games when teams are full-rotating to (Jokic and Murray). Sometimes three guys, sometimes four.” Durando notes that the sample of clutch games with Jokic playing is small, but it can still impact the playoff race.
- The two-year standard contract that Sidy Cissoko recently signed with the Trail Blazers is a minimum-salary deal that’s non-guaranteed in 2026/27, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype notes (via Twitter). In order to promote Cissoko, the Blazers had to waive Rayan Rupert, his best friend on the team, making the move bittersweet, writes Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report (subscriber link). “For me, it’s tough because he’s the guy that helped me with everything when I got here. I’ve got a lot of experience with him,” Cissoko said. “We’ve played together since we were 16 or 17.” Cissoko added that the promotion to the standard roster represents a step toward his goal of playing in the NBA for over a decade. “I’ve done great by being myself,” he said. “I’m not going to change because of my contract. It’s the same Sidy. I’m going to play the same way.”
Ace Bailey, Bub Carrington, Jahmir Young Added To Rising Stars Event
Jazz forward Ace Bailey, Wizards guard Bub Carrington and Heat guard Jahmir Young have been selected to participate in Friday’s Rising Stars competition as injury replacements, the NBA announced in a series of tweets.
Bailey will replace Mavericks star Cooper Flagg, who is unavailable due to a left midfoot sprain, while Carrington will take the place of his Wizards teammate, Alex Sarr, who is sidelined by a strained hamstring. Young will fill in for Bulls guard Mac McClung, who is out with a right calf injury.
Bailey will be part of Team Melo, coached by Carmelo Anthony, Carrington will be on Team T-Mac, coached by Tracy McGrady, and Young is on Team Austin, coached by Austin Rivers.
Selected with the fifth pick in last year’s draft, Bailey is part of a talented rookie class throughout the league. The 19-year-old has appeared in 48 games, making 37 starts, and is averaging 11.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 26.2 minutes per night with .449/.343/.708 shooting numbers.
Carrington, 20, was the 14th pick in the 2024 draft. He hasn’t missed a game in his NBA career and is averaging 10.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists in his second season with .402/.393/.761 shooting splits.
Young has spent most of the season in the G League and has only appeared in eight games with Miami. The 25-year-old is averaging 26.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 9.8 assists in 16 regular season games with Sioux Falls.
The Rising Stars event will match three teams consisting of NBA rookies and sophomores, along with a fourth team of G League players. They will compete in a three-game tournament to crown the winner.
Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel Once Again Named Rookies Of Month
Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg and Hornets wing Kon Knueppel have once again been named the Western and Eastern Conference Rookies of the Month, respectively, for games played in January, according to the NBA (Twitter links).
Flagg and Knueppel, who were Duke teammates last season, have monopolized the award this season, gaining those monthly honors three consecutive times. No one else has won it this season, as the months of October and November were combined.
Flagg, the top overall pick, averaged 20.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game last month. He capped off the month with a 49-point eruption against Charlotte and 34 points against Houston.
Knueppel averaged 17.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists per night in January. He scored a season-high 34 points in the same game Flagg scored 49.
Ace Bailey (Jazz), Cedric Coward (Grizzlies), Caleb Love (Trail Blazers) and Derik Queen (Pelicans) were the other Western Conference nominees. Egor Demin (Nets), VJ Edgecombe (Sixers), Tre Johnson (Wizards) and Collin Murray-Boyles (Raptors) were also nominated in the East.
Northwest Notes: Gordon, Trail Blazers, Holiday, Bailey
The Nuggets have been using Aaron Gordon off the bench since he returned from a hamstring strain to maximize the value of his limited minutes, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. Coach David Adelman wants Gordon to be available to help close out games, so he’s playing him strategically the rest of the time.
“When you have a minute restriction, if you start somebody, they sit for so long before you put them back in. So this allows me to kind of play with the minutes,” Adelman said after Friday’s loss to Atlanta. He pointed out that a starting lineup with Hunter Tyson and DaRon Holmes was able to keep the game close until Gordon checked in.
Gordon logged 24 minutes on Friday, the most he has played in any of the three games since his return after a six-week absence, and finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists. He said the hamstring feels “fine” now, but he’s still adjusting to the unfamiliar role.
“I’m just trying to figure out the flow of my minutes, you know? It’s a longer halftime for me right now, for going in at halftime, then coming off the bench out of halftime,” Gordon said. “It’s a little bit longer for me. So I’m just trying to figure out how I can continue to get my body back and contribute more in the second half. And help my team win. I feel like if I was better in the second half, we would have won that game. At least in the fourth quarter. So I take this one on me.”
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- The Trail Blazers are on a five-game winning streak, triggering memories of last season’s second-half surge, Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report states in a subscriber-only story. Injury issues created opportunities for two-way players Sidy Cissoko and Caleb Love, who have become trusted parts of the rotation. “It’s just the confidence that these guys are getting,” interim coach Tiago Splitter said. “True minutes, meaningful minutes. Knowing that we have a system and a way to play, and we just follow it.”
- Trail Blazers guard Jrue Holiday is close to returning after missing the past 27 games with a right calf strain, according to Joe Freeman of the Oregonian. He has been upgraded to questionable for Sunday’s game against New York and could be back on the court for the first time since November 14. Freeman notes that Holiday was originally expected to be reevaluated in one to two weeks, but the injury continued to linger. In 12 games, Holiday is averaging 16.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 8.3 assists in 33.4 minutes per night.
- Jazz rookie Ace Bailey was only able to play 10 minutes on Wednesday against Oklahoma City as he tried to return from a strained hip flexor. It’s the only time he’s been on the court since suffering the injury on December 26. “Yeah, it’s still day to day,” coach Will Hardy told reporters, per Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link). “You know, he felt like he could go in OKC, and then after his first two shifts, we didn’t love how he looked moving, he didn’t love how he felt, and so we don’t want to put him in a position that hurts him. So we’re taking it day by day. He’s working really hard. He was on the court today. Still got a long way to go.”
Injury Notes: Davis, Duren, Rockets, Warriors, Jazz
Mavericks big man Anthony Davis returned to action on Thursday vs. Philadelphia following a two-game absence due to a groin strain. Head coach Jason Kidd said the 10-time All-Star would immediately resume his normal workload, relays Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal.
“We always want him to play, so we’re happy to have him back,” Kidd said. “We’ll see — 30 to 34 minutes. We want to get him some touches. Offensively and defensively, we need him to be AD.”
Davis has been one of the biggest names in trade rumors for several weeks.
Here are a few more injury-related updates from around the NBA:
- Pistons center Jalen Duren suffered a right ankle sprain late in the second quarter of Thursday’s loss to Miami. While he was on the court to open the second half, he was moving gingerly and quickly asked for a sub before being formally ruled out for the remainder of the contest (Twitter link via the team). Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff indicated that Duren would likely undergo additional testing, tweets Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press.
- The Rockets got Alperen Sengun back from a left soleus (calf) strain on Thursday, but were missing backup centers Steven Adams (right ankle sprain) and Clint Capela (illness) in the victory at Brooklyn, notes Will Guillory of The Athletic (via Twitter). Sengun missed two games with the injury, though head coach Ime Udoka said it wasn’t serious.
- The Warriors are resting Draymond Green for Friday’s matchup vs. Oklahoma City, according to Anthony Slater of ESPN (Twitter link). It’s the front end of a back-to-back for Golden State, which faces Utah on Saturday. Guards Stephen Curry (left ankle sprain) and De’Anthony Melton (left knee injury management) are questionable for Friday’s game against the Thunder, while centers Al Horford (right sciatic nerve irritation) and Trayce Jackson-Davis (right pattellar tendonitis) are probable to suit up against the defending champions.
- The Jazz only have nine players active for Thursday’s contest at the Clippers. Among the noteworthy players out are Lauri Markkanen (left knee contusion), Keyonte George (illness), Jusuf Nurkic (left big toe sprain) and Ace Bailey (left hip flexor strain), per the league’s official injury report.