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Pacific Notes: Warriors, Lakers, E. Payton, Preston

March 25th, 2022 at 9:06am CST by Luke Adams

Since starting the season with a 41-13 record, the Warriors lost 12 of their next 18 games, prompting Draymond Green to call out the team after Tuesday’s loss in Orlando for “playing stupid” and “getting punked,” as Kendra Andrews of ESPN writes.

The Warriors immediately responded to that criticism in impressive fashion on Wednesday night in Miami, beating the Heat by 14 points without Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, or Green active. According to Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic, Wednesday’s victory made it clear that Golden State has enough pieces on its roster to make a legitimate run at this year’s title.

How far the Warriors go will ultimately be determined by how much they get from their stars, but if Curry, Thompson, Green, and Andrew Wiggins are healthy and playing well, a supporting cast made up of players like Jordan Poole, Kevon Looney, Otto Porter, Jonathan Kuminga, and Gary Payton II is good enough to make the team “incredibly tough to beat,” writes Thompson.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

The Lakers, who are currently tied with the Pelicans in the Western Conference standings, view Sunday’s game in New Orleans as a “must-win,” according to Russell Westbrook. Dave McMenamin of ESPN has the story and the quotes.
Elfrid Payton‘s 10.9 minutes per game this season are easily a career low, falling far short of the 28.5 MPG he had averaged in his previous seven seasons. However, he has been willing to embrace a reduced role for the NBA-best Suns, per Dana Scott of The Arizona Republic. “I’m just trying to do my job and stay ready, try to keep this thing going in the right direction,” said Payton, who likely won’t see much action going forward with Chris Paul back in the lineup.
Clippers rookie guard Jason Preston has yet to make his NBA debut after undergoing foot surgery in October, but he has impressed veteran teammate Reggie Jackson with his understanding of the game. “Selfishly for me, it’s like having another coach,” Jackson said of Preston’s presence on road trips (Twitter link via Mirjam Swanson of The Southern California News Group). “Smart kid.”

Grizzlies Notes: Jackson Jr., Bane, Contender, Morant

March 23rd, 2022 at 10:03pm CST by Rory Maher

In an appearance on ESPN’s NBA Countdown prior to Wednesday’s game against Brooklyn (video link), Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. said he believes he should win the Defensive Player of the Year award this season. Jackson leads the league in blocked shots per game with 2.2; he also averages 1.0 SPG and 5.9 RPG in 27.3 MPG.

“Of course I think I’m Defensive Player of the Year,” Jackson said. “I just think what I’m able to do, I mean the blocks are cool, but you get blocks from contesting shots. I’m able to do a lot more than most people who get a lot of blocks. I’m able to switch out on guards, I’m able to talk.

“You’ve gotta be a quarterback on defense and I think that’s what people miss. It’s a mind game. You’re really playing chess. I think Draymond [Green] might have said that one time, you’re playing chess with the offensive team coming down. So, I’m just able to read and I’m able to use my length to my advantage when I can.”

After appearing in just 11 games last season as he recovered from a torn meniscus, Jackson has played a career-high 72 contests to this point, only missing one game for the 50-23 Grizzlies.

Here’s more from Memphis:

With his fifth three-pointer in Wednesday’s 132-120 win over the Nets, Desmond Bane broke Mike Miller‘s single-season franchise record for threes made, the team announced (via Twitter). Bane finished the game 8-of-17 from the field, including 6-of-10 from deep, for a total of 23 points. He also chipped in four rebounds, five assists, a steal, and was plus-20 in 32 minutes of action. Bane has now converted 204 three-pointers this season.
The Grizzlies are way ahead of schedule in their rebuild, according to Tim MacMahon and Kevin Pelton of ESPN. Many expected the Grizzlies to be in the mix for the play-in tournament again after making their way to the No. 8 seed last season, but they’ve made a major leap and currently hold the second-best record in the NBA, only trailing the 59-14 Suns.
Nets star Kevin Durant thinks Ja Morant is bound for Springfield (Massachusetts) when his career is finished, per Nick Friedell of ESPN. “When you got a future Hall of Famer at the head of the snake, it just makes everybody better,” Durant said on Monday. “He’s a combination of players, I feel. I think the greatest players in our game can transform into anybody at any given point. And I think Ja’s on the way to that. When he’s playing, I see like two or three, four different Hall of Famers in his game. From [Allen] Iverson, to he might make a [Michael] Jordan-like layup, or he might run down the court like a [Russell] Westbrook or a [Derrick Rose].”
In case you missed it, Morant underwent an MRI and X-ray on his sore right knee on Wednesday.

NBA Fines Draymond Green $25K

March 22nd, 2022 at 5:05pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The NBA today has fined Warriors power forward Draymond Green $25K after he cursed at a referee during Golden State’s 110-108 loss to the Spurs on Sunday, per a PR announcement (Twitter link). Green was ejected following the incident.

Green had been playing in only his third game since returning to the team from a back injury that held him out of the Warriors’ lineup for 29 consecutive contests. Prior to the defeat, the 32-year-old had made his first All-Star team since 2018 and had been clearly on the hunt for Defensive Player of the Year hardware.

The 6’6″ vet out of Michigan State is averaging 7.6 PPG on 52.9% shooting, 7.5 RPG and 7.1 APG for the 47-23 Warriors, currently the third seed in the Western Conference.

As JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors points out (via Twitter), the Green fine marks the league’s fourth such penalty announced today. Timberwolves point guard Patrick Beverley, Bucks reserve guard George Hill, and injured Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic were all fined between $15K and $40K.

Warriors To Reevaluate Stephen Curry In Two Weeks

March 18th, 2022 at 2:59pm CST by Luke Adams

After reports on Thursday indicated that star guard Stephen Curry had suffered a sprained ligament in his left foot and would be out indefinitely, the Warriors confirmed that injury diagnosis today.

The team stated in a brief press release that Curry will be reevaluated in two weeks, which suggests he’ll be sidelined for at least the rest of March. Golden State has seven games during that stretch and will have just five contests left in the regular season by the time Curry is reassessed.

The 47-23 Warriors are, of course, in no danger of losing their playoff spot, and still seem relatively likely to hold onto a top-three seed, since they have a 3.5-game lead over the No. 4 Jazz.

Still, it’s an unfortunate turn of events for a team that just got Draymond Green back on Monday following a 29-game absence and has had Klay Thompson miss so much time since 2019. The Warriors’ three stars have shared the court for just 11 minutes so far this season and it appears they won’t do so again until either the final week of the regular season or the postseason.

As long as Curry remains on the shelf, the Warriors will likely lean more heavily on Jordan Poole, with Gary Payton II poised to immediately reclaim a regular backcourt role upon his return from a knee injury. Two-way player Chris Chiozza could also see a little action in a reserve role.

Sixers Notes: Harden, Embiid, Simmons

March 17th, 2022 at 5:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Sixers coach Doc Rivers wants James Harden to shoot more often, even though Harden has connected at a low percentage in recent games, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “You’ve got to be careful to keep him in scoring mode, and not put him in passing mode, because he’ll go there,” Rivers said. Harden has officially taken 11 and 12 field-goal attempts in his last two outings and has averaged 17.6 points over the last five games.

We have more on the Sixers:

The 76ers are 7-2 in games that Harden has played, a promising start with his latest team, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Harden has asserted himself on the court as a leader and has made a good impression on his new teammates. “He’s a good teammate,” Rivers said. “Guys like him. And most of the time, guys like anyone who passes, to be honest. I think guys are already finding ways — ‘I can score off this cut. I can do things like this.’ It’s still a learning process. But you ingratiate yourself to your teammates really quickly when you start passing to them.”
Joel Embiid could use more rest but the team can’t really afford it at this point in the season, Pompey notes in a separate story. “I started feeling (fatigue), but I have to keep pushing because we have 15 more games,” he said. Embiid, one of the NBA’s leading Most Valuable Player candidates, has averaged 35.8 MPG this month and has played 56 games, five more than he has in each of the past two regular seasons.
Embiid remains baffled by the Ben Simmons saga, as he told Draymond Green on the Warriors forward’s podcast (hat tip to Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire). “I just didn’t understand what was going on, honestly. I didn’t understand what happened and what led up to that whole situation. To this day, I don’t understand. Even when you look at it and I don’t have any problems with him and like I say, obviously we didn’t win the championship together, but in the regular season, we went dominant every single season.”

Stephen Curry Out Indefinitely With Foot Injury

March 17th, 2022 at 11:22am CST by Luke Adams

11:22am: There’s optimism that Curry will be able to return to action by the time the playoffs start in mid-April, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne. Curry is expected to consult with specialists for further evaluation of his injured left foot.

10:41am: Wednesday night’s MRI revealed a sprained ligament in Curry’s left foot, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), who reports that the All-Star guard will be sidelined indefinitely.

X-rays on the foot were negative, so there’s no fracture, Charania adds.

7:13am: After exiting Wednesday’s loss to Boston in the second quarter due to left foot soreness, Warriors star Stephen Curry underwent an MRI on the foot, writes Kendra Andrews of ESPN.

The Warriors have yet to clarify whether they expect Curry to miss time. As Andrews notes, head coach Steve Kerr simply told reporters after Wednesday night’s game that they’d know more once they get the results of the MRI.

Curry’s injury occurred when he and Celtics guard Marcus Smart battled for a loose ball, with Smart rolling into Curry’s leg when he dove to try to corral it (video link). Kerr, who was seen yelling at Smart, took exception to what he considered a “dangerous” play.

“I thought Marcus dove into Steph, and that’s what I was upset about,” Kerr said, per Andrews. “A lot of respect for Marcus. He’s a hell of a player, a gamer, a competitor. I coached him in the World Cup a few summers ago. We talked after the game and we’re good. But I thought it was a dangerous play.”

Smart said after the game that the contact was unintentional and that he was just trying to “make a play” for his team. Curry’s teammate Draymond Green said Smart’s dive was “maybe unnecessary,” but dismissed the idea that it was a dirty play.

Curry, who initially tried to walk off the injury, eventually exited to the locker room and was ruled questionable to return for the second half. He was subsequently ruled out. We’ll have to wait for the Warriors to reveal the results of the MRI to see whether Curry will miss any additional action for a Golden State squad battling for playoff positioning.

California Notes: Lakers, Holmes, Draymond, Clippers

March 15th, 2022 at 11:16pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The struggling 29-39 Lakers, winners of just two of their last ten games, are looking to the future, encouraged by the development of some of their youngsters, writes Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register.

Though the Los Angeles front office mostly opted to build its new-look roster around older veterans this summer, a handful of younger role players have emerged around 37-year-old All-Star forward LeBron James this season.

24-year-old guard Malik Monk and 23-year-old rookie wing Austin Reaves, alongside 25-year-old forward Stanley Johnson, have emerged as three of the Lakers’ more reliable players who may have yet to hit their ceilings. 21-year-old swingman Talen Horton-Tucker remains an intriguing option as well, though he has underperformed relative to his new three-year, $32MM contract this season.

“They’ve continued to improve and get better and more comfortable in our system, in our environment,” head coach Frank Vogel said of the Lakers’ youth movement. “Malik, Austin and Talen. That trio is another reason amongst others why I believe we have a chance.”

There’s more out of California:

The NBA has fined Kings big man Richaun Holmes to the tune of $25K after he threw a basketball into the crowd during a 134-125 loss to the Jazz on March 12, per a league press release (Twitter link). Holmes was ejected from the game at the time of the incident. It shouldn’t make too big of a dent in his wallet — the 28-year-old is in the first season of a lucrative new four-year, $46.5MM contract he signed with Sacramento during the 2021 offseason.
Despite being inactive for the last 30 Warriors contests this season due to a nagging back injury, All-Star power forward Draymond Green remains convinced he can still win his second Defensive Player of the Year Award this season, per Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. “Yeah, I’ve seen guys win with not many more games than I’m gonna play,” Green said. “I don’t know what league everybody else has been watching, but I have not seen anyone solidify themselves as Defensive Player of the Year.” Johnson notes that, should Green be available for all 13 remaining Warriors games during the 2021/22 regular season, he will only have suited up for 48 total this year.
With a 36-35 record, the eighth-seeded Clippers are six games behind the sixth-seeded Nuggets in the Western Conference. L.A. has just 11 games left on its regular season slate. The team has little to no chance of avoiding the play-in tournament at this point of the year, barring a collapse from both the Nuggets and the 40-30 seventh seed, the Timberwolves. The team is also a whopping 5.5 games ahead of the ninth-seeded Lakers. Mirjam Swanson of the Orange County Register examines how the Clippers intend to operate down the home stretch of the season given the reality of their seeding. “We’ll get a chance to experiment with our small lineup, which we gotta get better at once we get everyone healthy and get everyone back and then kinda see how that plays out,“ head coach Tyronn Lue said. Lue also intends to work through after-timeout plays, with an emphasis on helping shooting guard Luke Kennard improve his timing off screens.

Warriors Notes: Curry, Green, Wiseman, Looney, Kerr

March 15th, 2022 at 10:09am CST by Luke Adams

Warriors star Stephen Curry went off for 47 points in Monday’s win over Washington, his second-highest point total of the season and his highest single-game mark since Draymond Green went down with a back injury in early January. After the game, head coach Steve Kerr said there was “100 percent” a correlation between Green’s return on Monday and Curry’s big night, according to Kendra Andrews of ESPN.

“It changed for Steph right away, as soon as Draymond got out there,” Kerr said. “The chessboard changes with Draymond out there. With Steph, everything looks and feels a little bit different.”

Curry and Green only shared the court for 15 minutes, but Green’s impact on the former MVP was immediately apparent. Curry poured in 41 of his 47 points with Green on the court, scoring just six points on 3-of-9 shooting in the 20 minutes he played without him.

“When I’m not out there and when I’m watching, I see things that can be done that can help him out,” Green said, per Andrews. “He’s the greatest shooter we’ve ever seen. But you still have to screen, and you still have to find him in good spots and make sure he gets good shots and easy looks as opposed to tough looks all the time.”

Here’s more on the Warriors:

Prior to Monday’s game, Kerr told reporters that Green won’t be in the starting lineup for his first few games back, per Andrews. The former Defensive Player of the Year will also be restricted to about 20-to-23 minutes per game for the next week or two, and he’s OK with that. “I’m usually against any restrictions. I hate them,” Green said. “… (But) I am actually very inviting of it this time around. I know I need it. I know I need them to protect me from myself.”
After playing with the Santa Cruz Warriors on Thursday and Sunday, second-year center James Wiseman will play another G League game on Tuesday, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. According to Kerr, the team hasn’t made any further decisions on Wiseman, who is working his way back from knee surgery.
Green’s return will likely cut into Kevon Looney‘s playing time, but Looney’s importance to the organization has never been felt more than it has this season, writes Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. As Thompson details, Looney has made a major impact both on the court – with Green and Wiseman unavailable for much of the season – and off it, with teammates like Jordan Poole praising the big man’s veteran leadership.
Tim Kawakami of The Athletic explores how Kerr has gotten creative managing the Warriors’ rotation this season while incorporating rookies and dealing with injuries and slumps, noting that the veteran head coach will have an increasing number of options available to him as the team gets healthier.

Injury Notes: G. Hill, D. Green, Suggs, Vanderbilt

March 14th, 2022 at 10:16am CST by Luke Adams

While his return will likely be overshadowed by Brook Lopez‘s, another key Bucks contributor appears poised to be available on Monday night in Utah. Veteran guard George Hill no longer shows up on Milwaukee’s injury report after missing the last 17 games due to neck soreness.

[RELATED: Brook Lopez To Return On Monday]

Prior to his injury, Hill had been a regular part of the Bucks’ backcourt rotation, starting 16 of his 41 games and averaging 25.5 minutes per contest. While his shooting numbers this season (.436 FG%, .316 3PT%) are well below his career rates, the 35-year-old will give the club another ball-handling and floor-spacing option down the stretch, and he won’t shy away from the postseason spotlight this spring — Hill has appeared in 139 career playoff games.

Here are a few more injury-related updates from around the NBA:

Warriors forward Draymond Green is officially set to return on Monday after being sidelined since early January with a back issue, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Green, who no longer appears on Golden State’s injury report, said last week that he was targeting March 14 for his return.
After missing games on March 5 and March 8 due to a right ankle sprain, Magic rookie Jalen Suggs doesn’t appear to have put that issue fully behind him. He left Sunday’s game early, with the team again citing a sprained right ankle (Twitter link).
Timberwolves forward Jarred Vanderbilt will be unavailable on Monday for a second straight game due to a left quad contusion, tweets Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. Discussing Vanderbilt’s status on Saturday, Wolves head coach Chris Finch called it “kind of an odd” injury. “The only way to loosen it up is by moving, but it hurts too much to move,” Finch said (Twitter link via Hine). “Just got to keep working on it. The way he plays, he needs all of his physical attributes to be highly impactful.”

Pacific Notes: Westbrook, Kings, Ranadive, Wiseman

March 10th, 2022 at 10:04am CST by Luke Adams

Having faced criticism for his underwhelming play with the Lakers throughout the 2021/22 season, former MVP Russell Westbrook told reporters this week that he believes some of the disrespect he has received from fans this season has crossed a line.

“When it comes to basketball, I don’t mind the criticism of missing and making shots. But the moment it becomes where my name is getting shamed, it becomes an issue,” Westbrook said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “… ‘Westbrick,’ for example, to me, is now shaming. It’s shaming my name, my legacy for my kids. It’s a name that means, not just to me, but to my wife, to my mom, my dad, the ones that kind of paved the way for me.”

Westbrook said he no longer feels comfortable bringing his children to games because he doesn’t want them to hear the comments he gets from fans — or to face any harassment themselves. His wife, Nina Westbrook, stated on social media this week that she has had “obscenities and death wishes” sent her way.

Addressing his point guard’s comments, Lakers head coach Frank Vogel indicated on Wednesday that he and the team are throwing their support behind Westbrook and his family, according to Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group.

“He’s an important player for us, he’s a part of our family,” Vogel said. “And anytime a player is feeling that type of impact at home with his family, that is a big concern and should be handled with care. And I hope people can respect what he had to say postgame the other night, because it should never come to that.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report considers how the Westbrook situation might play out this summer, suggesting that it wouldn’t be out of the question for the Lakers to waive or buy out the 33-year-old, stretching his $47MM salary for 2022/23 across three seasons to gain more short-term financial flexibility. One source told Pincus the Rockets hope to revisit a potential Westbrook/John Wall swap, but other sources were skeptical the Lakers would have any more interest in that scenario this summer than they did during the season.
The Kings were the latest team to take part in what has become a trend this season, issuing a statement on Wednesday to say they disagreed with the NBA’s decision to suspend Domantas Sabonis. Previously, the Heat stated that they disagreed with the league’s decision to take away a second-round pick for their early pursuit of Kyle Lowry in free agency, while the Bucks publicly took exception to Grayson Allen‘s one-game suspension.
According to Scott Soshnick and Brendan Coffey of Sportico, Kings owner Vivek Ranadive is preparing a bid for English soccer club Chelsea FC, which is currently up for sale. Sportico recently projected Chelsea’s value to be $3.35 billion.
With James Wiseman nearing a return, Anthony Slater of The Athletic explores how the Warriors might use him down the stretch, especially when they’re trying to build momentum for the postseason and also reintegrate Draymond Green. In Slater’s view, dedicating a few minutes per half to a second unit led by a Jordan Poole/Wiseman pick-and-roll game could make sense for Golden State.