Central Notes: Jerome, Mitchell, Mathurin, Pistons
Two major injuries hindered important moments in Ty Jerome‘s career. A hip surgery prevented him from playing his senior year in high school, and he was limited to just 15 minutes with Cleveland last season before suffering a season-ending ankle injury.
As Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes, Jerome had previously parlayed an impressive Warriors season in 2022/23 into a multiyear deal with the Cavaliers. But Jerome was playing on a two-way contract in Golden State, meaning he was still getting his footing in the league at the time of last season’s injury.
“I was in a very dark place,” Jerome said. “I felt disconnected from the group. I felt alone. I was just kind of here by myself, going into the facility solely to rehab, and then back home to sit on the couch with no plan for how to get better and no real timeline for a return. I’m a hooper. It’s my only hobby. When I’m playing basketball, when I’m able to shoot and work out, I’m just a happier, healthier person.”
Jerome emerged from the situation as one of the Cavaliers’ most pivotal players. He’s averaging 12.5 points per game while shooting 51.6% from the floor and 43.9% from three this season. He went from not being considered as a Sixth Man of the Year candidate at the start of the season to emerging as a potential finalist for the award.
We have more from the Central Division:
- Donovan Mitchell‘s scoring output has dipped this season, but his self-sacrifice this season made the Cavaliers contenders, Joe Vardon of The Athletic writes. “Unselfish MVP, that’s what I call it,” teammate Darius Garland said. Vardon notes that Mitchell’s minutes and shot volume are down as part of a designed and agreed-to plan that allowed Garland and other teammates to step up this season.
- Bennedict Mathurin wasn’t able to play in the Pacers‘ run to the Eastern Conference Finals last season as he recovered from surgery on a torn labrum. As Dustin Dopirak of IndyStar writes, Mathurin remembers watching that run from the sidelines and is eager to help push the Pacers there again and beyond. “It’s huge,” teammate Aaron Nesmith said of having Mathurin back. “I’m excited to see him. He lives for moments like this. He’s a big-time shot taker, big-time shot-maker. He lives for big moments. His presence on the court, his presence at the end of games, throughout the course of the series will be huge for us.”
- Ahead of their first-round playoff series, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post analyzes how the Pistons and Knicks helped build each other’s rosters through a series of trades and free agents swapping places. The Pistons acquired the draft rights to Jalen Duren from New York in a 2022 deal that sent the Knicks one of the first-rounders they later traded for Mikal Bridges. Meanwhile, after acquiring Quentin Grimes from the Knicks at the 2024 trade deadline, the Pistons flipped him to Dallas last offseason in a deal for Tim Hardaway Jr., who started 77 games this season.
And-Ones: Clutch Player Award, NBA Europe, Award Picks, Oweh
The official candidates for Clutch Player of the Year have been revealed, NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor tweets. Here’s the list of candidates that voters can select for the award, as chosen by the league’s 30 head coaches:
- Anfernee Simons, Trail Blazers
- Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves
- Darius Garland, Cavaliers
- De’Aaron Fox, Spurs
- DeMar DeRozan, Kings
- Derrick White, Celtics
- Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers
- Jaylen Brown, Celtics
- Jalen Brunson, Knicks
- Jayson Tatum, Celtics
- Kevin Durant, Suns
- Kyrie Irving, Mavericks
- LeBron James, Lakers
- Luka Doncic, Lakers
- Nikola Jokic, Nuggets
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder
- Stephen Curry, Warriors
- Trae Young, Hawks
- Tyler Herro, Heat
- Tyrese Maxey, Sixers
Curry won the award last year.
We have more from around the international basketball world:
- While the NBA is trying to establish a new league in Europe, NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum insists that the goal is not to replace the EuroLeague, Eurohoops relays via a Reuters interview. “Our goal is to create a commercially viable league that features high quality on -court competition and respects the rich tradition of European basketball. And we think that that will better serve fans and players on the continent,” Tatum said. He notes that there are major cities in Europe that don’t have a team where the NBA can establish roots. “There are big markets in Europe that aren’t being serviced today, where there are millions of basketball fans that aren’t being serviced,” he said. London, Paris, Berlin and Rome are among the candidates that NBA Europe considers as prime targets.
- The Athletic’s John Hollinger reveals his award picks. He has Gilgeous-Alexander atop his MVP list and the Rockets’ Amen Thompson as his Defensive Player of the Year. O’Connor, writing for Yahoo Sports, has the same duo winning those awards. They also both have Stephon Castle taking Rookie of the Year honors, Payton Pritchard atop their Sixth Man of the Year lists, and Kenny Atkinson as Coach of the Year.
- Kentucky junior guard Otega Oweh will test the draft waters, Jeff Goodman of Field of 68 tweets. Oweh averaged 16.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 steals this past season. He played his first two seasons at Oklahoma.
Central Notes: Mitchell, Ball, Jones, Giddey, Giannis, Furphy
Donovan Mitchell is missing his fourth consecutive game on Sunday due to a sprained left ankle, but the Cavaliers remain confident their star guard will be ready to go when the team begins its first-round playoff series next weekend, writes Joe Reedy of The Associated Press.
Mitchell conducted a full workout at the Cavs’ training facility on Saturday and worked out on the court ahead of Sunday’s game vs. Indiana, Reedy notes.
“I think he’ll be full on with practice. We’re going to have to scrimmage at some point, probably inter-squad with refs, so he’ll participate in that,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “The most important thing is how we build him up with the ankle rehab and then conditioning.”
Here’s more from around the Central:
- Despite the fact that Lonzo Ball hasn’t played since February 28 due to a right wrist sprain, Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said he’d be willing to use the point guard in this week’s play-in game(s) if he’s healthy enough to return. As K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network tweets, Ball would be on a “short leash” in that scenario, per Donovan.
- As for the Bulls‘ other injured guards, Tre Jones (left foot sprain) remains in a walking boot and doesn’t appear close to returning, but there’s “high-level optimism” that Josh Giddey (right wrist tendinopathy) will be available to play on Wednesday vs. Miami, even though his wrist is still bothering him (Twitter links via Johnson).
- After appearing in just three of 11 playoff games in 2023 and 2024, star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo will enter this year’s postseason healthy and having played some of his best basketball as of late — he has averaged 31.8 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 11.8 assists per game in six April outings, all Bucks wins. “He’s doing everything,” head coach Doc Rivers said of Antetokounmpo on Friday, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “And that’s what’s so special about him.”
- With the Pacers‘ playoff seed already clinched, rookie wing Johnny Furphy set new career highs on Friday in points (17) and minutes played (32) while also throwing down an impressive dunk in the second quarter of a loss to Orlando (Twitter video link). Furphy figures to only play garbage-time minutes in the playoffs, but head coach Rick Carlisle likes what he has seen from the first-year swingman, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. “He’s just a pure competitor,” Carlisle said. “Everything about him is pure. He doesn’t have a selfish bone in his body. Does everything hard. Does everything with the right spirit.”
Cavaliers Clinch Top Seed In Eastern Conference
By defeating Chicago on Tuesday, the Cavaliers secured the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2016, as ESPN.com relays.
“Yeah, I mean I think you celebrate these moments,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “You know, we’ll talk about going forward, what that looks like, but today, tonight we celebrate. And, you know, I think the guys are super happy in that locker room.”
Cleveland’s victory also means that the defending champion Celtics are locked into the No. 2 seed in the East entering the playoffs.
Atkinson said he’ll talk to his coaching staff and players about the plan for the final three games of the season — resting regulars is one option. He said he would prefer Donovan Mitchell to sit the remaining regular season contests to fully heal after sustaining a left ankle sprain on Sunday. Mitchell missed Tuesday’s game with the injury.
“I think there are various options on the table. It’s going to be a collaborative thing and the players are part of it,” Atkinson said. “What is their feel on rhythm? We can do intrasquad scrimmages to prepare. We can do a lot of things to get ready.”
The Rockets didn’t play on Tuesday, but they clinched the No. 2 seed in the West when the Thunder beat the Lakers, notes Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle. The Thunder secured the West’s top seed three weeks ago.
Unlike the East, where the six guaranteed playoff spots were already known last week, the three through six spots in the West are still up for grabs. Only two games separate the No. 3 Lakers from the No. 8 Timberwolves with the regular season set to conclude on Sunday.
Central Notes: Mitchell, Niang, LeVert, White, Dupree, Cunningham
If the Cavaliers clinch the top seed in the Eastern Conference on Tuesday, they’ll do it without Donovan Mitchell. The star guard is listed as out against the Bulls due to an ankle sprain, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com tweets. Mitchell was injured on Sunday when he stepped on Keon Ellis’s foot during a loss to the Kings.
We have more from the Central Division:
- The trade that sent Georges Niang and Caris LeVert from the Cavaliers to the Hawks came as somewhat of a surprise to both players, Jake Fischer reports in a column for The Stein Line. The deal only moved forward when the Hawks dropped their original asking price of multiple first-round picks for forward De’Andre Hunter. “It takes anybody by surprise until it happens, right?” Niang told said. “You’re like, ‘Nah, that’s not gonna be me.’ And then when it happens, after it I’m like, ‘It kinda makes sense.’ The money, shortening the rotation to kind of have one guy replace two, it kinda all made sense. But it took some time to digest it. I think All-Star break was perfect for that.”
- The Bulls won’t have Coby White available for the matchup with Cleveland. White is being rested in the first game of a back-to-back, the Sun Sentinel’s Ira Winderman tweets. Chicago faces Miami on Wednesday.
- Bucks front office executive Ronald Dupree is returning to alma mater LSU as the GM of the men’s basketball program, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets. Dupree spent eight years in the Bucks front office.
- Pistons All-Star Cade Cunningham is back in action after missing two weeks of action due to a calf contusion. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff said the fact that his team has already clinched a first-round berth will help his star get fully healthy for the playoffs. “We’ve got some time, so that’s a good thing. It’s not something that we have to rush into,” he said. “The play-in week will be good for us also because we can take advantage of the conditioning without games to plan for … we’re in a great spot.” He’s getting better but we just want to make sure he’s right … he knows what it takes for his body to be where it needs to be and we trust him.”
Donovan Mitchell Returns To Game After Injury Scare
The Cavaliers missed a chance to clinch the best record in the East on Sunday night, but they’re relieved that Donovan Mitchell‘s left ankle injury wasn’t as bad as it first appeared to be, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
Mitchell turned the ankle early in the third quarter of a loss to Sacramento when he stepped on the back on Keon Ellis‘s foot. He fell to the court in obvious pain, but was eventually able to walk to the locker room without help. After having it examined, he returned with 3:01 left in the quarter and played the rest of the game.
“I wanted to get the No. 1 seed and then go from there,” Mitchell told reporters in explaining his decision to resume playing. “If I’m able to go, I’m gonna go. Obviously, a little hobbled after the first adrenaline rush … but I’m trying to win, trying to help my team win in any way possible.”
Vardon adds that Mitchell was limping in the locker room after the game and may have to miss Tuesday’s contest at Chicago. The Cavaliers will play Thursday at Indiana and Friday at New York before returning home Sunday to face the Pacers again. They need just one win or one Boston loss to wrap up the No. 1 seed, so there’s little urgency to get Mitchell back in the lineup until he’s fully healed.
Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson admits he feared the worst when he saw his star player writhing on the court, Vardon states. His message to Mitchell was to make certain he wasn’t taking an unnecessary risk by returning.
“‘If it’s even five percent where you’re a little weak or it’s bothering you, you just got to tell me,” he told Mitchell. We gotta get you out, we’ve got multiple games to try and close this thing, but we don’t have to do it tonight.’ He said he was fine, felt fine. I look at it as a positive. Imagine his ankle is bad, he’s out for a couple of weeks, that could easily happen. So I am looking at it like a positive, man. He came back, finished playing the whole fourth quarter, so that might be the most positive thing of the night.”
Also Sunday, the Cavs welcomed back sixth man Ty Jerome, who had missed the previous five games with soreness in his left knee. Jerome contributed 20 points in 23 minutes, including 10 in the fourth quarter when Cleveland erased a 12-point deficit.
Jerome said he sat out to “let (his knee) calm down a little bit, let the swelling go down,” but he never lost confidence that he could return before the end of the regular season.
NBA Announces Finalists For Sportsmanship, Teammate Of The Year Awards
The NBA announced the 2024/25 finalists for a pair of awards on Wednesday, naming the six players who are eligible to win the Sportsmanship Award for this season, as well as the 12 players who are in the running to be named Teammate of the Year.
The Sportsmanship Award honors the player who “best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court,” per the NBA. Each of the league’s 30 teams nominated one of its players for the award, then a panel of league executives narrows that group to six finalists (one from each division) and current players voted for the winner.
The trophy for the Sportsmanship Award is named after Joe Dumars, the Hall-of-Fame guard who won the inaugural award back in ’95/96. This season’s finalists are as follows (via Twitter):
Jarrett Allen (Cavaliers)- Dorian Finney-Smith (Lakers)
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder)
- Jrue Holiday (Celtics)
- Kyrie Irving (Mavericks)
- Franz Wagner (Magic)
Holiday is the only one of this year’s finalists for the Sportsmanship Award who has earned the honor in the past — he won it in 2021. Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey won the award last season.
Meanwhile, the NBA also announced its finalists for the Teammate of the Year award for 2024/25. According to the league, the player selected for the honor is “deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team.”
The voting process is similar to the Sportsmanship Award — a panel of league executives selects 12 finalists (six from each conference) for the award, then current players vote on the winner.
Holiday is a three-time Teammate of the Year, while Timberwolves guard Mike Conley has also won the award twice, including in 2024. However, neither of those veterans is a finalist this season.
The Teammate of the Year finalists are as follows (via Twitter):
- Steven Adams (Rockets)
- Nicolas Batum (Clippers)
- Jalen Brunson (Knicks)
- Stephen Curry (Warriors)
- Tobias Harris (Pistons)
- Al Horford (Celtics)
- Jaren Jackson Jr. (Grizzlies)
- James Johnson (Pacers)
- DeAndre Jordan (Nuggets)
- Brook Lopez (Bucks)
- Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers)
- Jaylin Williams (Thunder)
Western Notes: Curry, K. Jones, Payton, Mitchell, Jazz
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is optimistic that Stephen Curry will return from his pelvic contusion on Friday in New Orleans, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
According to Slater, Curry took part in a six-minute scrimmage followed by an individual workout on Thursday. The two-time MVP, who has missed the past two games, will be listed as questionable for Friday’s contest. Curry sustained the injury on March 20 after a hard fall against Toronto.
Here are a few more notes from the Western Conference:
- Mavericks center Kai Jones had an impressive block on Franz Wagner in the first quarter of Thursday’s game in Orlando and immediately followed it up with an alley-oop dunk off an assist from Naji Marshall (Twitter video link via Christian Clark of The Athletic). Unfortunately, Jones was unable to brace himself after the dunk and had a scary-looking fall, with all of his weight landing on his left hip. The Mavericks later ruled him out for the remainder of the contest with a left hip contusion (Twitter link). Jones, who is on a two-way deal with Dallas, has started each of his past four games and played well over that span. He recently missed seven games with a left quad strain.
- Veteran guard Elfrid Payton, who is on a 10-day contract with the Pelicans, shined in Monday’s victory over Philadelphia, writes Rod Walker of NOLA.com. The Louisiana native finished with six points, six rebounds, 14 assists and was plus-14 in 25 minutes off the bench. “It felt good,” Payton said. “Felt like I was at home again. I love being here. This is the best thing ever.”
- Star guard Donovan Mitchell recently returned to Utah to face the Jazz for just the second time since he was traded to Cleveland in the 2022 offseason. While in town, he reflected on his Jazz tenure, per Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune (subscriber link). “I think we had our opportunity. We had a lot of windows. I think we had our opportunity, we just missed it,” Mitchell said. “I think it’s just one of those things, we had plenty of opportunities to get things done. We had injuries that one year. The last year we were together, you know, we just didn’t capitalize. Sometimes you just miss your window. I talk about it with my friends a lot, we’re comparing this team we have now versus the first place team we had here (in Utah). I’ve gotten to a point that is like, ‘It’s okay,‘ We did a lot of positive things.”
Central Notes: Mitchell, Slumping Cavs, Cunningham, Lillard
Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell is owning responsibility for Cleveland’s current losing streak, which extended to four games on Friday in Phoenix, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes (subscription required).
“Put this on me,” Mitchell said. “When your leader ain’t doing [expletive], this is what happens. If I’m not being who I need to be then we’re not going to get to where we want to get to. So, until that happens — and it will — yeah, if you’re looking for where to point, it’s right here.”
Since the beginning of March, Mitchell is shooting 32.9% from the field and 17.9% on three-pointers, compared to 44.1% and 37.0% on the season, Fedor adds. In their four straight losses, he’s down to 18.5 PPG on 29.6% shooting.
- The Cavaliers‘ Friday loss represents their lowest point of the season, Fedor writes in another story (subscription required). Cleveland has given up at least 120 points three times in its last four losses and ranks in the bottom half of the league defensively this month. Meanwhile, the scorching-hot offense that overshadowed any defensive shortcomings earlier in the year has faltered as of late. Of course, the Cavaliers still hold a five-game lead over the second-place Celtics in the East, but they’ll want to right the ship in the coming weeks to regain some momentum entering the postseason.
- Wednesday’s performance against the Heat was the pinnacle of Pistons star Cade Cunningham‘s young career, Hunter Patterson of The Athletic opines. Cunningham recorded team highs in points (25), rebounds (12) and assists (11) as he notched a triple-double and knocked down his first career game-winning three-pointer. The former No. 1 overall pick felt the game was a culmination of everything he has been through, including the 28 straight losses the Pistons endured last season and the injury that limited him to 12 games in his sophomore season. “It’s still early though, I feel like,” Cunningham said. “I still feel like there’s so much to do. There’s still so much that I haven’t experienced.“
- Bucks star Damian Lillard missed Thursday’s game against the Lakers due to calf soreness, per NBA insider Chris Haynes, and he’ll also miss Saturday’s tilt in Sacramento, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter links). It’s the first time since late December that Lillard had to miss consecutive games. He’s averaging 24.9 points and 7.1 assists per game in his age-34 season. Guard Ryan Rollins drew the start on Thursday in Lillard’s absence.
LeBron James, Donovan Mitchell Named Players Of The Month
Lakers forward LeBron James has been named the Western Conference’s Player of the Month for games played in February, the NBA announced today (via Twitter). While it’s the 41st time in his decorated 22-year NBA career that James has earned the honor, it’s the first time he has done so since 2020.
James’ Lakers went 10-2 in February, with the four-time MVP averaging 29.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 6.9 assists in 35.1 minutes per game to lead the way. The 40-year-old posted an impressive shooting line of .555/.443/.738 in his 11 games over the course of the month.
James’ teammate Austin Reaves was among the other players nominated for the award in the West, along with Stephen Curry, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jaren Jackson Jr., Nikola Jokic, and Anfernee Simons, according to the league (Twitter link).
Meanwhile, in the Eastern Conference, Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell has earned February’s Player of the Month award. He was selected over fellow nominees Cade Cunningham, Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum, Pascal Siakam, Tyrese Haliburton, and teammate Evan Mobley.
Mitchell, who appears well on his way to an All-NBA berth, averaged 25.8 points, 5.3 assists, and 4.2 rebounds in 30.5 minutes per game with a .487/.381/.786 shooting line in 10 games in February. His Cavaliers continued to extend their lead atop the Eastern Conference standings during the month, with a 10-1 record.
It’s the third time in Mitchell’s career that he has won a Player of the Month award, including his second time as a Cav.