Injury Notes: Smart, Kennard, Smith, LeBron, Zion, Suns
The Grizzlies are aiming to get some 5-on-5 work in for Marcus Smart this weekend, head coach Taylor Jenkins said on Wednesday (Twitter link via Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal). Jenkins added that Luke Kennard is “probably a step behind” Smart in the recovery process, per Cole.
Smart was diagnosed with a left foot sprain on November 17 and was expected to miss three-to-five weeks. He’s four weeks into that process now, and could be nearing a return. Kennard, meanwhile, has been dealing with a left knee bone bruise. Almost two weeks ago, the Grizzlies said he was expected to be back in two-to-three weeks.
Here are some more injury notes from around the NBA:
- Pacers big man Jalen Smith (left knee bone bruise) has begun on-court work, head coach Rick Carlisle told reporters, including Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter link). “It’s possible within the next week to 10 days we could see him in a game,” Carlisle said. Smith is averaging 10.0 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 70.7% from the field through 14 games (15.4 MPG).
- Lakers star LeBron James was held out of Wednesday’s back-to-back in San Antonio after playing 40 minutes in Wednesday’s loss to Dallas, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. The Lakers said James, who was initially listed as questionable, was dealing with left calf soreness, but it doesn’t sound like anything serious, as he was interacting with teammates on the sidelines throughout the contest.
- Pelicans forward Zion Williamson missed Wednesday’s win over Washington with left ankle soreness, but it should be a short-term injury, according to Christian Clark of NOLA.com. “His ankle is getting better,” head coach Willie Green said. ” ... His ankle is fine. Day to day.” Williamson sustained the injury late in Monday’s game, Clark notes.
- Suns wing Josh Okogie sustained a right hip injury and was sidelined for Wednesday’s loss to Brooklyn, per Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports (Twitter link). It’s unclear how long Okogie might be sidelined. Guard Eric Gordon also missed the game with a calf injury. On a more positive note for Phoenix, fellow wing Nassir Little returned to the lineup after clearing the NBA’s concussion protocol, tweets Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Little wore a black face mask during the contest, as he sustained an orbital fracture last Friday against Sacramento. Surprisingly, Little only missed one full game and most of another with the injury.
Suns Notes: Booker, Little, Gordon, Beal
The Lakers have defeated the Suns twice already this season heading into their in-season tournament quarterfinals matchup on Tuesday night. However, Phoenix didn’t have Devin Booker available in either of those games.
That will change in the third meeting, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic writes. Booker, who has dealt with ankle and calf injuries, is ready to go after posting 34 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists on Saturday against Memphis.
“Missing any game is tough, I’m excited for this one,” Booker said. “I know they’re playing well as of now. They’re back healthy. They have their roster back. It’ll be a heavyweight match in L.A. A lot on the line. Winner goes to Vegas. I think everyone is looking forward to it. It should be fun.”
We have more on the Suns:
- Nassir Little has seen action in 14 games off the bench since being acquired from Portland as part of the three-team Damian Lillard blockbuster. Little is adjusting to his role with a contender after being moved from the rebuilding Trail Blazers, Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports notes. “In the league, especially on a team like this, you gotta be able to stay ready,” said Little, who is signed through the 2026/27 season. “At full strength, there’s gonna be guys who are good enough to be rotation players who may not be playing, but you can’t take that as an insult. You have to just understand kind of what the situation is and make sure you stay in shape, make sure you continue to work on your game.”
- Eric Gordon is listed as questionable to play on Tuesday due to a knee injury, Rankin tweets. Gordon didn’t play against Memphis on Saturday after seeing 33 minutes of action the previous night against Denver.
- Bradley Beal remains out due to his lingering back issues. That will be the 18th game he’s missed this season, which already will make him ineligible for any end-of-season awards, Bourguet tweets. The new CBA requires a minimum of 65 games to be eligible for those awards.
Injury Notes: Haliburton, Bam, K. Murray, Nuggets, Suns, Hornets
Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton is expected to be out for Saturday’s game against Miami, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports. Indiana’s best player is officially listed as questionable.
As Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star tweets, Haliburton missed the team’s shootaround this morning due to a right knee bone bruise and an upper respiratory infection. The Pacers went just 6-20 without Haliburton last season, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter).
Haliburton, who signed a five-year, maximum-salary rookie scale extension in the offseason, is off to an All-NBA-caliber start to 2023/24, averaging career highs of 27.0 points and a league-leading 11.8 assists per game while posting an elite .519/.447/.880 shooting line. The Pacers host the Celtics on Monday for the quarterfinal of the league’s inaugural in-season tournament, so hopefully he’ll be back in time for that contest.
Heat center Bam Adebayo has also been ruled out of Saturday’s contest due to a left hip contusion, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (subscriber link) wouldn’t be surprised to see Orlando Robinson get the starting nod in his place, with Kevin Love continuing to come off the bench due to the synergy he’s developing with the second unit.
Here are a few more injury notes from around the NBA:
- Kings forward Keegan Murray, the No. 4 overall pick of last year’s draft, will return on Saturday against Denver after missing four games due to lower back soreness, sources tell Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 KTXL (Twitter link). As for the Nuggets, Jamal Murray (ankle) and Aaron Gordon (heel) are questionable after missing Friday’s game against Phoenix, according to Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports (Twitter link).
- Suns star Devin Booker is questionable for Saturday’s contest vs. Memphis, notes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Booker, who is dealing with an ankle sprain, missed Friday’s game against Denver. Eric Gordon is also questionable due to a right knee contusion.
- Hornets backup center Nick Richards will return to action on Saturday after missing the previous six games while in the league’s concussion protocol, the team announced (via Twitter). No. 2 overall pick Brandon Miller will also be available after missing Charlotte’s last game with a left ankle injury.
Devin Booker To Return On Wednesday
OCTOBER 15, 7:14pm: While Booker will return on Wednesday, Beal has been downgraded from probable to out due to his back issue, tweets Rankin. That means the regular season debut of the Suns’ big three will be postponed by at least one more game.
OCTOBER 15, 8:50am: Booker will be available on Wednesday and the Suns’ big three will play together for the first time this season, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
OCTOBER 14: Suns guard Devin Booker is expected to return on Wednesday from the right calf strain that has sidelined him for the past five games, sources tell Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.
According to Rankin, Bradley Beal is also expected to be available on Wednesday vs. Minnesota despite tweaking his back in Sunday’s game against Oklahoma City.
Assuming both Booker and Beal are formally cleared to play, it will be the first time that the Suns’ new big three is in action since the regular season began.
With Booker and Beal both on the shelf for much of the season so far, Phoenix has stumbled out of the gate, losing six of its first 10 games despite Kevin Durant‘s usual All-NBA production. Durant has put up 30.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 4.6 rebounds per game on .498/.429/.851 shooting, while Beal has been limited to three appearances and Booker has played just twice.
Grayson Allen, Josh Okogie, and Keita Bates-Diop have all been frequent starters during the season’s first three weeks, but as long as Phoenix’s big three is available alongside center Jusuf Nurkic, there will only be room for one of them in the starting five as of Wednesday. Allen, who has yet to come off the bench this season, is probably the best bet to hang onto his starting spot.
Eric Gordon, who missed Sunday’s game due to a shoulder injury he sustained on Friday, is also aiming to be back on Wednesday, Rankin adds.
Pacific Notes: Gordon, Tucker, Harden, Hachimura, Vanderbilt, Kerr
Injuries to Devin Booker and Bradley Beal have forced Eric Gordon to take on a larger role than he was expecting in his first few games with the Suns, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Gordon has made three starts already and ranks third on the team in scoring at 16.5 PPG. He’s also the team leader with 11 made three-pointers while seeing time at both guard positions.
“I am always comfortable. On a lot of teams I have been on, I have played a little bit of point guard and little bit of shooting guard,” Gordon said. “Even in playoffs and a lot of tough circumstances, and that is why I am here. Whoever is in and out I want to keep playing at a high level to where down the line, wherever it ends up being, whatever tough situation I will still find myself to be able to do well.”
The Suns have championship aspirations after trading for Beal and revamping their bench this summer, but they’re off to a 2-2 start. Gordon believes things will get easier once everyone becomes accustomed to playing together.
“There’s a lot of new guys. We’re all getting acclimated to one another,” he said. “I expect to just continue to get better as long as the games get better, as long as we play more games. Our chemistry’s getting better as you see. I’m definitely going to get shots and I’m gonna knock them down. Those (first) two games, things happen in this league, but the year goes along I expect to continue to shoot pretty well.”
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Coach Tyronn Lue expects P.J. Tucker to play tonight in his first game with the Clippers, tweets Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. Lue told reporters that the process has already begun to integrate Tucker and James Harden, who were acquired in a trade with the Sixers that wasn’t finalized until this morning, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN (Twitter link). “It’s going to take some time, understanding process, rotations,” Lue said, “… but we’re excited about it … it’s going to take sacrifice whether shots … they’re willing to do it.” Also speaking to the media before tonight’s game, team president Lawrence Frank said Clippers officials studied how Harden adjusted his game when he was with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn and how he adapted to playing alongside Joel Embiid in Philadelphia (Twitter link).
- Lakers forward Rui Hachimura, who’s missing his second straight game tonight, saw a specialist after he began to develop concussion symptoms, coach Darvin Ham said in his pre-game press conference (Twitter link from Dave McMenamin). Ham also said Jarred Vanderbilt, who has yet to play this season because of bursitis in his left heel, is making progress but is still limited to stationary drills.
- Warriors coach Steve Kerr tells Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area that the 2022 championship was a “surprise” because the team hadn’t been at that level the previous two seasons.
Pacific Notes: Mann, Hyland, Gordon, Wainright
Asked on Thursday about the trade rumors surrounding Terance Mann, Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue indicated that he doesn’t want to see the guard go anywhere and expressed confidence that he’ll stay put.
“We love T-Mann, and T-Mann is gonna be here,” Lue said (Twitter link via Joey Linn of SI.com). “So we’re not worried about what they’re saying outside, all the speculations. It’s a good thing to be wanted.”
Of course, the decision on Mann’s future won’t ultimately be made by Lue, but the Clippers have reportedly resisted including him in any offer for James Harden for months.
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Bones Hyland‘s big night against his former team came to an abrupt end on Thursday when the Clippers guard sprained his left ankle in the third quarter vs. Denver. However, Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times hears that there’s some “initial optimism” that the injury may not force Hyland – who had scored 25 points in 24 minutes – to miss any regular season games. He’ll be reevaluated in a few days, the Clippers announced today.
- Speaking to Mark Medina of Sportskeeda, veteran guard Eric Gordon named the Rockets, Warriors, and Bucks as some of the other options he had in free agency before he chose to sign with the Suns. “I felt Phoenix was onto something special,” Gordon said. “It was a tough decision, but I really think we have everything going on here from ownership, to coaches and to players. It’s hard to beat.”
- The Suns are hoping that their release of Ish Wainright is “more of a logistical thing” rather than the end of their relationship with him, according to head coach Frank Vogel. As Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic observes, Phoenix has a two-way slot open and Wainright would be eligible to sign a two-way deal with the club if he clears waivers.
- Within their season preview for the Pacific Division, Jovan Buha, Law Murray, and Anthony Slater of The Athletic agree that the best move of the offseason by a Pacific team was the Suns‘ trade for Bradley Beal. The Athletic’s trio cites Phoenix’s trade of Deandre Ayton, the Warriors‘ acquisition of Chris Paul, and the Clippers‘ unwillingness to increase their trade offer for Harden as the moves with the biggest potential to backfire.
Suns Notes: Ishbia, Nurkic, Booker, Watanabe, Ayton
Forget about the defending champion Nuggets. Forget about what the Bucks and Celtics have done in recent weeks. Suns owner Mat Ishbia confidently declares his team the best in the league, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic reports.
“We’ve got a great team. I think we’ve got the best team in the league,” Ishbia said. “Obviously, we’ve got to play it out. We’re really excited.”
Ishbia believes that Jusuf Nurkic, acquired in the three-team Damian Lillard blockbuster, is a “better fit” than Deandre Ayton, who was dealt to the Trail Blazers.
“We wish Deandre nothing but the best,” Ishbia said. “He was a great part of the organization, he’ll do great things in Portland, but for us, Nurkic is the better fit and it wasn’t my decision or a one-person decision. It was a unanimous decision that we think it was the right fit for our team.”
We have more on the Suns:
- General manager James Jones is confident Devin Booker will feel comfortable as the main ball-handler, Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports tweets. “Devin’s a player. He’s figured out how to be effective on the ball, off the ball….He’s not gonna complain about having the ball in his hands more, so we’re looking forward to that,” Jones said. Jordan Goodwin and Eric Gordon will also serve as ball-handlers, he added.
- Yuta Watanabe said one of the reasons he signed as a free agent was that he wanted to play again with Kevin Durant, Rankin tweets. They were teammates in Brooklyn. “I really enjoyed playing with him,” Watanabe said. “He’s a great teammate, great guy, great leader. After he was traded I was really sad.”
- Ayton took a verbal shot at his former organization, hinting the Suns didn’t want him to succeed, Rankin tweets. “I’m with an organization that wants me and wants me to succeed,” Ayton said. “It’s a lot more passion when you feel that mentally and you’re seeing that physically as well. It’ll be a lot more grit and a lot more DominAyton this year.”
Stein’s Latest: Bahamas, Gordon, Thompson, Jones, Giannis
The Bahamas just had its most successful international run ever, winning a pre-qualifying tournament — and eliminating Argentina in the process — to have a shot at making next summer’s Olympics if the national team can win another six-team tournament.
FIBA drew some criticism for allowing veteran guard Eric Gordon to compete with the Bahamas, as he previously played for Team USA at the 2010 World Cup. However, as Marc Stein writes at Substack, Gordon does have a legitimate tie to the Bahamas — his mother was born and raised in the island nation, and the U.S. granted him permission to switch allegiances, likely due to his advanced age (he’s 34).
Here’s more from Stein:
- Stein hears the Bahamian national team isn’t finished recruiting NBA players, with Evan Mobley, Isaiah Mobley and Naz Reid all eligible to represent the country. Stein also wonders if the team will recruit Klay Thompson, whose father, former top overall pick Mychal Thompson, is from the Bahamas.
- Like Gordon, Klay Thompson would have to become a naturalized citizen in order to compete for the Bahamian team, and only one such slot is available in FIBA events. Thompson has already won a pair of gold medals with Team USA. His father neither confirmed nor denied that his son might attempt to compete for the Bahamas in the future, simply telling Stein, “We’ll see.”
- Derrick Jones Jr. considered signing with the Heat in free agency, league sources tell Stein. The veteran forward, who played two-plus seasons in Miami, instead signed a one year, minimum-salary deal with the Mavericks.
- The Lakers and Knicks are among the teams that may intrigue Giannis Antetokounmpo if he were to leave the Bucks in the future, according to Stein. The two-time MVP recently expressed a desire to keep winning championships, wherever that may take him. Antetokounmpo can become a free agent in 2025.
International Notes: Serbia, Bahamas, Gordon, Croatia
The Serbian national team has officially announced its 12-man roster for the 2023 World Cup, which tips off on Friday (Twitter link). The Serbians are missing star center Nikola Jokic, along with accomplished veteran guard Vasilije Micic, who made the move from the EuroLeague to the NBA this offseason.
However, the squad still features multiple current and former NBA players, starting with Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic. Heat forward Nikola Jovic, Sixers big man Filip Petrusev, and former Grizzlies guard Marko Guduric are among the notable players representing Serbia at this year’s World Cup.
Here are a few more notes from around the international basketball world:
- The Bahmas defeated Argentina on Sunday in the final of an Olympic pre-qualifying tournament, with Suns guard Eric Gordon scoring a game-high 27 points, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Following the Bahamian victory, former NBA forward Andres Nocioni – who won an Olympic gold medal with Argentina in 2004 – questioned whether it was fair for FIBA to allow Gordon to suit up for the Bahamas despite representing Team USA earlier in his international career (Twitter link). “Let’s not lose the essence of international competitions,” Nocioni added in a follow-up tweet.
- A Croatian team led by Warriors forward Dario Saric and Clippers center Ivica Zubac scored an upset victory over Alperen Sengun and Turkey in the final of another Olympic pre-qualifying tournament on Sunday, as Eurohoops details. Croatia, the Bahamas, Cameroon, Poland, and Bahrain won this month’s pre-qualifying tournament to secure spots in next year’s Olympic qualifiers.
- Vangelis Papadimitriou of Eurohoops highlights a handful of non-U.S. NBA players who could be difference-makers in this year’s World Cup, including Canadian forward RJ Barrett and Dominican big man Karl-Anthony Towns.
International Notes: Bahamas, Poland, Green, Lessort
Veteran Pacers swingman Buddy Hield submitted a team-most 17 points, while Suns guard Eric Gordon and center Deandre Ayton both made meaningful contributions during Bahamas’ 78-62 blowout win over Uruguay during the 2024 Olympics pre-qualifiers Saturday, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.
Bahamas will now square off against home team Argentina in the final of this year’s Olympic pre-qualifying tournament Sunday night, with the winner earning a spot in next summer’s Olympic qualifying tournament. This is an entirely separate event from the FIBA World Cup, which tips off next week.
Here are more international hoops notes:
- In winning one of this month’s Olympic pre-qualifying tournaments, Poland has now clinched a spot in the 2024 Olympic qualifying tournament, according to Eurohoops. Poland vanquished Bosnia and Herzegovina, 76-72, in the final. Napoli Basket small forward Michal Sokolowski paced Poland with 16 points and seven boards.
- While playing their fourth FIBA World Cup exhibition game in Tokyo, Team Australia beat Team France 78-74. Boomers (and Mavericks) wing Josh Green departed the warm-up bout with a mild ankle injury, but the ailment appears fairly minor, per Olgun Uluc of ESPN (Twitter link).
- After sitting out most of France’s training camp with an ankle issue, national team center Mathias Lessort has been given the green light to suit up for next week’s World Cup, reports Eurohoops. The Knicks own Lessort’s draft rights, though it remains unclear whether he will ever come stateside.