Southeast Notes: Plumlee, Cavanaugh, Magic, Wall
With Dewayne Dedmon and John Collins sidelined by injuries, Miles Plumlee made his first start today since joining the Hawks, notes Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Plumlee, who was part of Atlanta’s return from the Hornets in this summer’s Dwight Howard trade, had to overcome a right quad injury last month. He had played just two games for Atlanta before today’s start, which saw him post six points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes.
Plumlee, who is making $12.5MM this season and each of the next two, may get an extended chance to show what he can do as a starter. Dedmon is projected to miss three to six weeks with a left tibia stress reaction, while Collins will be out at least two weeks with a sprained AC joint in his left shoulder. Plumlee was a full-time starter for the Suns during his second season in the league in 2013/14, but has been used mainly in a reserve role since.
There’s more out of the Southeast Division:
- Rookie power forward Tyler Cavanaugh may also see more playing time in the absence of Dedmon and Collins, Cunningham adds in the same story. The 23-year-old, who signed a two-way deal with the Hawks in early November, is mainly a stretch four, but was used in a lineup today with a point guard and three wings. Cunningham expects that alignment to continue until the front line is at full strength.
- The Magic may need to consider trades to address their problems on defense, suggests Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando has been the worst defensive team in the league since November 11 based on points per possession and has lost 10 of 11 games in that span. Robbins points out that Jonathan Isaac‘s injury has been part of the problem, but adds that Elfrid Payton, Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic all have issues on that end of the court.
- Wizards guard John Wall provided an update on his injured left knee Friday, but isn’t sure when he’ll be able to play again, relays Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. He had platelet-rich plasma treatment and viscosupplementation injections in the knee last weekend and is waiting for a medical report on how he is responding. Wall, who also this season has endured a sprained shoulder, sprained ankle, swollen knee, migraines and an illness that required an IV, said he tries to avoid missing games. “I’m the type of guy who likes to play through things,” he said. “It just got to the point where it was affecting my play. I tried to get through it as much as I could, but then everyone was like you have to care of it and think about the long-term, not just the short-term.”
Wizards Don’t Plan Roster Addition To Replace Wall
The Wizards will be without star guard John Wall for about two weeks, but probably won’t make a roster move to replace him, tweets Candace Buckner of The Washington Post.
Washington has a roster opening, but coach Scott Brooks told reporters tonight that he does “not anticipate bringing anyone in.” The team has been carrying 14 players since waiving Carrick Felix at the start of the month.
Wall has been diagnosed with inflammation in his left knee and will get platelet-rich plasma injections to try to ease the pain. He received the first one today, along with a viscosupplementation shot (Twitter link). Wall has been dealing with soreness since November 7 in the wake of “knee-to-knee contact” during a game with the Mavericks. His earliest return date is probably December 9 against the Clippers in Los Angeles (Twitter link).
Brooks said he hopes rest, along with the injections, will “calm the knee down” enough for Wall to return by then (Twitter link). He added that “guys are ready to play bigger roles,” specifically Otto Porter and Markieff Morris, who has been taken off his minutes limit (Twitter link).
John Wall To Miss Two Weeks Due To Left Knee Inflammation
Wizards point guard John Wall will miss approximately two weeks to undergo platelet-rich plasma injections to reduce inflammation in his left knee, the team announced in a press release on Saturday.
Wall, 27, initially suffered “knee-to-knee contact” during the Wizards’ November 7 matchup against the Mavericks, per the release. Washington was concerned Wall would miss this weekend, but Friday’s MRI revealed that the point guard will not return until December at the earliest.
In 16 games this season, Wall still posted productive totals of 20.3 PPG and 9.2 APG, but his lack of mobility due to the knee injury has been noticeable. Knee injuries are not new to Wall, as he underwent surgery last May on the same knee to remove calcium deposits.
As pointed out by Candance Bucker of The Washington Post (link via Twitter), the Wizards’ release noted that Wall not only consulted with the team physician but also the doctor who performed that surgery last year.
Southeast Notes: Wall, Hezonja, Olynyk
The Wizards may be without John Wall this weekend, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington writes. The point guard continues to experience discomfort in his knee and underwent an MRI on it this afternoon.
“John is definitely going to be questionable tomorrow,” Wizards head coach Scott Brooks said. “We’ll see how he feels [Saturday morning] and then make a decision from there.”
The knee issues can be traced back to two weekends ago when members of the Wizards training staff administered a pair of IVs to help Wall recover from migraines and a general sickness. That fluid, however, collected in his knee.
The problem, Wall says, is that his mobility hasn’t returned despite having already had the fluid drained. If it doesn’t return soon, the 27-year-old All-Star who missed the team’s Friday afternoon practice, could miss his third game of the young NBA season.
There’s more out of the Southeast Division:
- Despite their best efforts, the Magic didn’t find a taker for Mario Hezonja prior to October 31, Zach Lowe of ESPN writes. That date is significant because the team was forced to decide whether or not to extend the swingman through 2018/19. When no trade materialized, the club declined the option. Now, Lowe writes, a team should buy low on the project and see if they can develop him into a serviceable rotation player. Despite going fifth overall in the 2015 NBA Draft, the 22-year-old has averaged just 5.3 points through his first three seasons.
- At this point in the season, Kelly Olynyk is not projected to hit the 1,700-minute plateau that would trigger an extra $1MM in salary, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes. The big man is averaging 18.5 minutes per game for the Heat so far in 2017/18.
- Backup forward Mike Scott has thrived in his first year with the Wizards. The 29-year-old has averaged 8.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game off the bench in Washington and the man he replaces in the starting lineup has taken notice of his playing style. “I think he’s trying to steal my game,” Markieff Morris joked. “We kind of resemble each other a lot more than what I thought before he got here.“
Injury Notes: A. Davis, Thomas, Porzingis, Wall
Earlier today, we passed on the news that Sixers guard Markelle Fultz in making progress with his shoulder ailment. Here are a few more injury notes involving some of the NBA’s top players:
- Pelicans forward Anthony Davis has cleared the concussion protocol and is probable for Monday’s game, tweets Scott Kushner of The Advocate. Davis was diagnosed with a contusion of the orbit bone above his right eye after a collision the third quarter of Friday night’s contest. He was removed from the game and didn’t re-enter.
- Cavaliers guard Isaiah Thomas participated in some five-on-zero drills and worked on his shot today in practice, relays Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com (Twitter link).
- Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis has swelling in his elbow caused by bursitis, but says it isn’t the reason for his recent shooting problems, according to Ian Begley of ESPN (Twitter link). “At the end of last season, it was really swollen; it was really, really big,” he said of the elbow. “But it was never really bothering me. Now this season, kind of fell on it a couple of times. It wasn’t bothering me either. In Sacramento, I fell kind of on the side. It was a new spot. It was much more sensitive. Now I’m doing treatment. Today’s the day I’m almost back to normal. I almost don’t feel it at all anymore.”
- Wizards guard John Wall will miss today’s game with soreness in his left knee, tweets Candace Buckner of The Washington Post.
- Warriors forward Kevin Durant suffered a sprained ankle last night and will sit out today’s game in Brooklyn, tweets Warriors PR.
No Structural Damage For John Wall
Tests conducted today on John Wall‘s injured left shoulder showed no structural damage, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical. The star guard is reporting soreness and is questionable for Sunday’s game with the Raptors.
Wall was diagnosed with a sprained shoulder after Friday’s game with the Cavaliers, according to Brian Windhorst on ESPN Now. X-rays taken Friday night were negative, but Wall had his arm in a sling as he left Capital One Arena.
Wall said the damage was done when he ran into the Cavs’ Channing Frye on a play in the fourth quarter. He told reporters he should have left the game after that happened.
The Wizards are relieved that they won’t be without their leader for an extended time. The four-time All-Star is averaging 20.5 points and 10.4 assists through eight games.
Pacific Notes: Curry, Rivers, Bledsoe
Five years ago, Stephen Curry signed a four-year, $44MM extension with the Warriors. Two NBA Most Valuable Player awards and two NBA championships later, that contract turned out to be a mammoth bargain. However, when Curry originally signed the deal on Halloween 2012, the risk was all on the Warriors, Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic writes.
Before Curry’s mantle was stuffed with MVP trophies and NBA championship rings, he was known as a potentially prolific shooter with troublesome ankles. He missed 56 games with ankle injuries in 2011/12 and tweaked his ankle once again during the 2012/13 preseason. However, before Curry and his representation agreed to the $44MM extension, the Warriors told Curry’s agent Jeff Austin that the team would be willing to offer a max deal in free agency that summer.
“They said if he was healthy at the end of the season, they set aside the max money for him,” Austin said. “The Warriors were terrific the whole process. They told him if he could stay healthy, he would get the max.”
Curry’s team-friendly deal paved the way for Golden State to add players such as Andre Iguodala and last season, Kevin Durant. It also allowed the team the financial flexibility to retain Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. The Warriors signed Curry to a supermax deal worth over $201MM this offseason and the team is primed to reach their fourth consecutive NBA Finals.
Below you can find other news from the Pacific Division:
- Clippers head coach Doc Rivers is not a fan of the NBA’s advanced statistics, most notably pace, Elliot Teaford of The Orange County Register writes. There seems to be a discrepancy in Rivers’ interpretation of pace (having players move efficiently on the court) versus the NBA’s definition (number of possessions per game).
- John Wall understands the predicament his former Kentucky teammate, Eric Bledsoe, is in with the Suns, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington writes. “Eric’s situation was that they had some great pieces and some great teams. [Markieff Morris] was with him over there. They had a season where they almost made the playoffs with 48 wins and they didn’t make it.” Wall said. “He’s going into his eighth year and he hasn’t made the playoffs [since 2013]. The team is getting younger and younger and he wants to get out of there and get to a team where he can make the playoffs.”
Southeast Notes: Heat, Magic, Wall, Morris
Given Pat Riley‘s history as a coach and executive overseeing star-studded rosters, it’s somewhat unusual that the Heat don’t currently have any players that have made an All-Star team. However, as he said this week during an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio, Riley believes Miami has players that qualify as “stars,” even if they’ve never been recognized as All-Stars.
“I was asked this question earlier and I was a little bit taken aback by it, that, ‘How do you think you can win when you don’t have any All-Stars?'” the Heat president said, per Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. “And when you think about All-Stars, there were 12 All-Stars last year in the Eastern Conference and there are 225 players in the Eastern Conference. So we had a lot of stars on our team last year, we had All-Stars on our team last year, they simply weren’t selected.”
Although Riley is happy with his current roster, he also made it clear that the Heat won’t hesitate to pursue superstar-caliber players should they become available: “When it comes to ‘one step away,’ where are we in the rebuilding process, we’re going to always chase the most talented players that we can that are superstars, that we feel have the ability to be a superstar, and to really carry a team when a team can’t carry itself.”
Here’s more from around the Southeast division:
- After bouncing around from Denver to Portland to New York to Sacramento over the last several seasons, Arron Afflalo is happy to be back in Orlando. And, as Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel writes, his Magic teammates are happy to have him on the roster. “He’s a really great vet to have around,” Aaron Gordon said of Afflalo. “Not only is he extremely talented and a skilled basketball player . . . he’s very good in the locker room. He’s always positive. He’s always encouraging. He’s looking to get everybody involved.”
- John Denton of NBA.com takes a closer look at new Magic swingman Jonathon Simmons, the club’s biggest free agent signing of the offseason.
- Wizards head coach Scott Brooks believes John Wall can be in the MVP conversation this season, and Wall admits that he’s set the same goal for himself, per Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington.
- Wall and the Wizards are looking forward to getting Markieff Morris back with the team, though the veteran forward won’t be healthy to start the season. Hughes has the details in a separate article for NBC Sports Washington.
Wizards Notes: Sloan, Wall, Morris
Donald Sloan has impressed the Wizards in training camp and it appears his chances of making the team are getting better, Candace Buckner of The Washington Post writes.
“He’s definitely going to get an opportunity to make the team here. I like his professionalism, I like his toughness, I like his serious approach to the game. Those are all qualities that every team will want players to have on their rosters,” Coach Scott Brook said.
Having a reliable backup to John Wall has been an issue for the club since the team drafted him back in 2010. Sloan hopes he can help the team in that area, although the front office addressed the spot this summer with the addition of Tim Frazier. Frazier’s arrival, along with the addition of Jodie Meeks, added to a crowded guard rotation, something that Sloan was aware of before he agreed to join the Wizards in training camp.
“I knew what they had on the roster already. You wonder why. Why would you come in?” Sloan said. “I just didn’t come here to make the team … I came to be a part of what they’re trying to do here. I came to be that guy off the bench to give them what they need. I came to be that guy with backup minutes.”
“If coach has something set in his mind already about what he thinks it’s going to be. I’m going to put pressure on him to think otherwise.”
Here’s more from Washington:
- Sloan turned down several international offers to come to the Wizards’ training camp, Buckner adds in the same piece. The point guard’s goal is to play in the NBA, specifically for Washington, and he worried that continuing to play overseas will cause NBA teams to typecast him as a non-league level player. Sloan spent last season in China where he led the Guangdong Southern Tigers to the Chinese Basketball Association Finals.
- The Wizards believe John Wall, who signed a four-year, $170MM extension this offseason, is one of the best players in the league and Brooks can envision him winning the MVP award this season. Wall loves having his coach’s support and hopes to achieve that lofty goal, as Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington relays. “[Winning MVP is] a goal that I have for myself, also,” Wall said. “It’s not more pressure. It’s an opportunity knowing how much I worked on my game. It shows how much coach believes in me. He wants me to run the team. He’s put me in different positions to excel. That’s my ultimate goal, to be MVP one day, why not have it have an MVP season this year?”
- Markieff Morris, who was found not guilty of assault earlier today, will be cleared to join the Wizards without punishment from the league, Buckner reports in a separate piece.
Southeast Notes: Heat, Free Agents, Wall, Jordan
Expect the Heat to make roster moves well into training camp to maximize their flexibility, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. The team will probably follow the same pattern it did last year when Keith Benson and Stefan Jankovic stayed with the team for most of camp before being replaced by Vashil Fernandez and Luis Montero. All four players wound up with the team’s G League affiliate in Sioux Falls.
Heat GM Andy Elisburg explains that teams have to be aware of building a 10-man G League team at the same time as the 15-man NBA roster. That process is complicated this year by the creation of two-way contracts for players who remain under team control in the G League and are limited to 45 days with the NBA club. “I think you’re going to see signings up to training camp,” Elisburg said. “You’re going to see signings throughout training camp. You’re going to see signings the last week or two of training camp, maybe last day or two of the preseason, of players who will be joining the roster, who will be probably working their way to various developmental-league teams.”
There’s more news from the Southeast Division:
- The Heat might be reluctant to pursue any of the veteran free agents still on the market, Winderman writes in a separate piece. In response to a reader’s letter suggesting Tony Allen, Beno Udrih, Deron Williams, David Lee, Mike Dunleavy or Boris Diaw, Winderman explains that Miami already has a full complement of players with guaranteed contracts, and adding another would likely lead to getting rid of Okaro White, who has a partial guarantee, or A.J. Hammons, who is fully guaranteed at the minimum salary.
- The Wizards are confident John Wall will give them fair value for the full life of his contract extension, writes Chase Hughes of CSNMidAtlantic. The four-year, $170MM extension he agreed to in July takes effect in 2019 and includes a player option for the final season. It will keep the 27-year-old in Washington until he turns 31 or 32. “Thirty is still very young in the NBA nowadays,” said team president Ernie Grunfeld. “But we’ve seen John grow every single year. He’s improved every year he’s been in the league. The last four years he’s been an All-Star. This past year he was an elite-level player making the All-NBA team.”
- Former NBA head coach Eddie Jordan is close to joining the Hornets‘ staff, relays Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. The team is finalizing a contract for Jordan to replace Bob Weiss, who recently accepted a job as an assistant with the Nuggets. Jordan has a 257-343 record as coach of the Kings, Wizards and Sixers.