Nic Claxton

New York Notes: Knicks, Injuries, Claxton, Clowney

January 11th, 2025 at 10:48am CST by Earnest Marshall

The Knicks trailed by as many as 30 against the Thunder on Friday and were booed heading into the locker room at halftime, Andrew Crane of the New York Post writes. After winning nine games in a row, the Knicks have now lost four of their last five, including three by double figures.

As Ian Begley of SNY points out, the Knicks are 0-5 this season against the top two teams in each conference, 4-7 against the eight best teams in the league, and 9-11 against teams over .500. Still, at 25-14 and third in the Eastern Conference, the Knicks are confident they have plenty of time to sort things out.

“Yeah, I think we do,” Josh Hart said. “I think at the end of the day we have to go out there and execute at a high level; we have to go out there with energy, we have to go out there with no egos. We have to go out there with no individual agendas. We have to go out there and sacrifice. I think that’s the biggest thing.

“We’re a new group. We’re still learning, figuring it out, but we can’t expect to just have talent and go out there and win games. We’ve got to lock in and compete.”

We have more from New York:

Karl-Anthony Towns and Hart both suffered minor injuries against the Raptors and were both able to play through them, but it served as a reminder as to how pivotal health is for the contender hopefuls, Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post writes. New York. The Knicks lost several members of their rotation to injuries near the end of a 50-win season in 2023/24 and were defeated in the second round of the playoffs.
After dealing with an injury early in the season, Nets center Nic Claxton appears to be mostly healthy, but he’s still aiming to improve on what’s proven to be a difficult season, Lucas Kaplan of NetsDaily writes. Claxton’s averages of 9.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game are below his career rates and he’s averaging fewer than half the blocks he did two years ago. “Yeah. Just trying to keep our morale up, keep my morale up, and try to be as vocal as I can be,” Claxton said of how he’s trying to impact the team.
Second-year Nets forward Noah Clowney has showcased a three-point shot in recent weeks, making 10 across a pair of outings on Dec. 23 and 26 and knocking down five more on Wednesday. As Bridget Reilly of the New York Post notes, Clowney has taken over the starting forward position in the wake of Dorian Finney-Smith being traded away and is seizing the opportunity. “What I like to call it is I like to keep teams honest,” Clowney said. “I don’t like where teams have the ability to sag off of me because I’m a weak shooter. I feel like that hurts my team in general. So if I’m able to shoot the ball and I can keep somebody honest and keep the floor spaced for my guys to get in the lane, then that’s always been the goal. So after ‘Bama, I think I shot 29 percent at Alabama, something like that, but I knew I could shoot. I think other people knew I could shoot. Somebody took a chance, and here we are.” Clowney is shooting 37.8% from deep this year on 5.3 attempts per game.

Nets Notes: Claxton, Thomas, Williams, Clowney

December 25th, 2024 at 7:59pm CST by Rory Maher

Nic Claxton cashed in as a free agent last summer, re-signing with the Nets on a four-year, $97MM+ contract. However, he isn’t meeting his own expectations thus far in 2024/25, and Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscriber link) argues Brooklyn’s starting center isn’t living up to the team’s investment, either.

“I’m not pleased with nothing, honestly,” Claxton said. “I need to be better, more consistent.

“Everywhere: rebounding, free throws, protecting the rim, more blocks. I need to do everything better. Be more aggressive on offense. Everything.”

Claxton’s numbers are down across the board in 2024/25, with the 25-year-old averaging 9.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 59.4% from the floor in 23 appearances (24.8 MPG). Last season, he averaged 11.8 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 2.1 APG and 2.1 BPG while shooting 62.9% from the field in 71 games (29.8 MPG).

In fairness, Claxton has also dealt with injuries, having missed all of preseason action with a hamstring injury and then dealing with a lower back strain which required him to receive an epidural injection. But the Nets have been more effective when he isn’t playing, which certainly isn’t what they were hoping for after giving him a big contract.

Here’s more from Brooklyn:

Cam Thomas (left hamstring strain), who played 5-on-5 on Monday, will be sidelined again on Thursday, Lewis writes for The New York Post. The Nets are eager to get their leading scorer back in the lineup — their offense has sputtered in the month he’s been out, Lewis notes. “It’ll be nice when we get Cam Thomas back just to have some … a real half-court bucket, half-court scorer,” Claxton said. “That’ll be good. We’re missing him right now a lot.”
Ziaire Williams (left knee sprain) is also nearing a return, but he’ll miss at least one more game, having been ruled out of Thursday’s matchup in Milwaukee, Lewis adds. Both Thomas and Williams will be restricted free agents next offseason if they’re tendered qualifying offers.
Noah Clowney has been playing some of his best basketball of the season after a “desultory effort” vs. Cleveland on Dec. 16 saw the second-year big man foul out with two points, two rebounds and two turnovers in 17 minutes, according to Lewis. Clowney credited an attitude adjustment for his improved play. “My main goal since the Cleveland game has been to be better energy-wise for my team,” Clowney said. “A lot of body language issues I had, and I’m trying to be an energy-giver. I feel like — I was told — [there’s] no neutral energy. It’s either bad or good. So try to give good energy. So that’s been my main goal, as far as how I play. [You] make shots sometimes, you don’t make shots sometimes. Do what you can on the defensive end. Just try to control what you can.”

Celtics’ Mazzulla, Nets’ Claxton Fined By NBA

December 21st, 2024 at 1:40pm CST by Luke Adams

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla has been fined $35K, while Nets center Nic Claxton has been fined $25K, the NBA announced today in a pair of press releases (Twitter links).

Mazzulla was hit with his fine for “aggressively pursuing and directing inappropriate language” toward a referee in Boston’s loss to the Bulls on Thursday. The Celtics’ coach came onto the court at the end of the game and had to be held back by his assistants and a security guard as he yelled at official Justin Van Duyne (Twitter video link).

Mazzulla was believed to be upset about technical fouls assessed to him, Jaylen Brown, and Jayson Tatum during the fourth quarter of the loss, but he offered a deadpan response when asked during his post-game media session about what he was saying to Van Duyne and the other referees.

“I just hadn’t seen them in a while, so just a Merry Christmas, happy holidays,” Mazzulla said (Twitter video link). “I wasn’t sure I was going to see them before the holiday. I just can’t let a moment go by where you wish someone just the best to them and theirs and their families.”

As for Claxton, he earned his $25K fine for throwing the basketball into the spectator stands during Brooklyn’s win over Toronto on Thursday.

That incident occurred in the second quarter — after being fouled by Kelly Olynyk, the Nets center tossed the ball into the crowd, seemingly frustrated about a non-call on the previous possession. He earned an ejection and also appeared to be on the verge of throwing a seat cushion before assistant coach Juwan Howard intervened (Twitter video link). Claxton admitted after the game that he needs to do a better job of keeping his emotions in check on the court.

“Yeah, he knows he has to be better, especially this one,” head coach Jordi Fernandez said, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “You can control your frustrations. That’s no reason to do that. I understand that we all have emotions, but the team needs him. His teammates need him, and he knows it. And that’s why he’s going to come back and work and be better.”

New York Notes: Towns, Achiuwa, Claxton, Fernandez

December 20th, 2024 at 8:04am CST by Arthur Hill

Karl-Anthony Towns was outstanding in his return to Minnesota Thursday night, and the Knicks look like the clear winners of the trade that shook up the NBA just before the start of training camp, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post.

Towns, one of the top players in Timberwolves history, was sent to New York in a three-team deal to get the Wolves out from under his pricey contract. He didn’t have anything negative to say about the franchise as he played in Minnesota for the first time since the trade, but his play spoke loudly as he racked up 32 points, 20 rebounds and six assists while shooting 10-of-12 from the field.

“I was here nine years. That’s a long time. I called this place home,” Towns said. “To be back here, to be able to sleep in my house one more time, it was really a nostalgic feeling.”

While Towns is making a strong case to be an All-Star starter, the trade hasn’t worked out nearly as well for the Wolves, Bondy adds. Julius Randle came out hot on Thursday with 15 points and three assists in the first quarter while directing numerous comments at the Knicks’ bench. However, he was mostly ineffective after OG Anunoby began guarding him and left without speaking to reporters. Donte DiVincenzo had 15 points in 25 minutes, but much of that came during garbage time as New York held a huge lead for most of the night.

“The game wasn’t just another game,” Towns said. “If anyone tells you otherwise that’s a lie.”

There’s more on the two New York teams:

Josh Hart missed the game for personal reasons, marking the first time all season that the Knicks have been without one of their starting wings, according to Bondy. Precious Achiuwa made his first start of the season and delivered 13 points and 10 rebounds in 28 minutes. Jericho Sims returned to the rotation and had six points in 18 minutes.
Nets center Nic Claxton admits he needs to stay in control after being ejected Thursday for the third time this season, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Claxton got tossed when he threw the ball into the stands after being intentionally fouled by Kelly Olynyk on a drive to the basket. He appeared to be frustrated over a non-call on the previous possession. “I just had a mental lapse, and I just launched the ball in the crowd,” Claxton told reporters after the game. “And I can’t let my emotions get to that point. I got to be there for my team.”
The Nets rallied for a win at Toronto that boosts their playoff chances but likely hurts their position in the lottery, Lewis adds. Coach Jordi Fernandez was happy that his players kept battling, as he wants their focus to be on remaining competitive rather than next year’s draft. “There was adversity, for many different reasons, but nobody dropped their shoulders, and they kept playing,” Fernandez said. “Winning a game like this, it’s important for us.”

New York Notes: Achiuwa, Brunson, McBride, Thomas, Claxton

December 6th, 2024 at 8:19am CST by Earnest Marshall

Knicks big man Precious Achiuwa made his season debut on Thursday after missing the first 22 games of the season with a hamstring injury. ESPN’s Tim Bontemps first reported (via Twitter) that Achiuwa’s debut was dependent on how warmups went. He ended up playing 12 minutes in a blowout win over Charlotte, finishing with two points and four rebounds.

Achiuwa’s return is a boon for a Knicks team that has had its frontcourt depth depleted by injuries in the early going. Center Mitchell Robinson has yet to play this season as he deals with an ankle issue, which left Jericho Sims and Ariel Hukporti as the team’s only true bigs behind Karl-Anthony Towns until Achiuwa’s return.

The Knicks sit at 14-8, good for fourth in the Eastern Conference. They opened the season 5-6 before beginning to really click and winning nine of their last 11 games. New York made big offseason swings for both Towns and Mikal Bridges, the former coming right before the beginning of the regular season.

Adding Achiuwa should only help the team continue its climb up the standings. A part of the OG Anunoby deal last December, the former Raptor made 18 starts for New York in 2023/24 across his 49 appearances. He averaged 7.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, 0.6 steals and 1.1 blocks per game for the Knicks.

According to the New York Post’s Peter Botte, Achiuwa received an ovation in his return.

“[The reception] means a lot to me. Obviously, New York to me is very dear to my heart,” Achiuwa said. “So just being able to go out there and hearing the crowd, it meant a lot to me. … Watching from the sideline has been very tough, but just being out there and knowing that the crowd is behind me throughout the whole process has been very reassuring.”

We have more from New York:

Knicks star guard Jalen Brunson took a hard hit in New York’s win over Charlotte on Thursday, exiting the game late in the third quarter and not reutrning, according to Newsday’s Steve Popper. It doesn’t sound like anything serious though, as the Knicks were up big late when Brunson returned to the bench and likely held him out for precautionary reasons. He was sporting a wrap on his back/ribs, but said after the game that he felt amazing.
The three-year, $13MM extension Miles McBride signed approximately one year ago is looking like a bargain for the Knicks. He became integral to the team in the second half of last season, averaging 11.0 PPG while making 36.8% of his three-point attempts in the 2024 playoffs. Through 17 games this season, McBride is averaging career highs of 11.2 PPG and 2.8 APG on a career-best shooting split of .462/.435/.909. In a subscriber-only story, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post explores what the young guard would earn if he were signing a new contract now, positing that the deal would likely be somewhere in the range of $10-12MM annually. The former West Virginia guard expressed no regrets about signing his contract when he did, though. “There are a lot of people that are out here struggling, and I’m having fun,” McBride said. “I’m playing well. I’m on a great team. I’m more than happy.”
High-scoring Nets guard Cam Thomas has missed the last five games for Brooklyn while he nurses a hamstring injury. According to the New York Post’s Brian Lewis, Thomas is still in the early stages of his recovery and there’s no timetable yet for his return. “I’m just doing whatever the performance team has me doing. It’s still early,” Thomas said. “I’m just doing whatever they have me doing, just a little bit here and there. But it’s all right.”
Nets center Nic Claxton — who signed to a four-year, $100MM extension last offseason — fluctuated between the bench and starting unit in the first 14 games of the season while dealing with a back injury. Lucas Kaplan of NetsDaily questions whether there’s any reason to worry about Claxton, who averaged just 8.5 points per game in those first games of the season. “I think in professional sports, especially in this league, a lot of these guys play with bumps and bruises. What we need them is to believe that they’re good to go,” head coach Jordi Fernandez said. “And if we feel like a guy is not confident, we’re gonna let them make the decisions, I think that’s fair. If you play and you are afraid to get hurt, guess what? You’re going to get hurt. So we don’t want that for Nic or anybody in our group.” Claxton’s numbers are his lowest since becoming a starter and Kaplan suggests that he isn’t playing with the same level of explosiveness.
On the other hand, Lewis posits that Claxton is rounding into form after averaging 12.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks in his last three games (all starts). “Yeah, I’m getting there, for sure. It’s taking a while, but I’m getting there,” the Nets center said.

Nets’ Cam Thomas Out 3-4 Weeks With Hamstring Strain

November 27th, 2024 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Nets guard Cam Thomas is expected to miss the next three-to-four weeks with a left hamstring strain, sources tell ESPN’s Shams Charania.

As we detailed earlier today, Thomas, who has also recently dealt with an illness and a sore back, was removed in the third quarter of Monday’s game vs. Golden State and had been ruled out for Wednesday’s contest in Phoenix due to what the team initially referred to as left hamstring soreness.

Thomas, 23, has ranked among the NBA’s scoring leaders in the first few weeks of the 2024/25 season, averaging a career-high 24.7 points to go along with 3.4 assists and 3.2 rebounds in 33.4 minutes per game across 17 outings (all starts).

Perhaps most importantly, he’s scoring more efficiently than ever, knocking down 46.1% attempts from the floor and 38.9% of his three-pointers — both marks would be the best of his career.

The 27th overall pick in the 2021 draft, Thomas is in the fourth and final year of his rookie contract and will be a restricted free agent during the 2025 offseason after not coming to terms with the Nets on an extension prior to the season.

Brooklyn wants to maximize its cap flexibility next summer, so not extending Thomas early was about keeping the team’s options open and not necessarily a signal that the team doesn’t view the high-scoring guard as part of its future. Still, the belief is that the rebuilding Nets won’t make anyone on their roster untouchable at this season’s trade deadline, and one report this month suggested Thomas is “widely considered to be available.”

Even if Thomas is able to return in just three weeks, he’ll miss Brooklyn’s next eight games. A four-week absence would sideline him through Christmas and cost him 11 contests.

The Nets have a few banged-up players whose availability is in flux, so it’s hard to predict how exactly they’ll cover for Thomas’ absence, but Ziaire Williams, Shake Milton, and Keon Johnson are among the candidates for increased roles.

Confirming Charania’s report on Thomas’ diagnosis, the Nets announced that he’ll be reevaluated in three weeks and also shared updates on a few more injuries (Twitter link via Brian Lewis of The New York Post).

According to the team, Noah Clowney (left ankle sprain) will be reevaluated in two weeks, Jaylen Martin (right knee bone contusion) will be reevaluated in one-to-two weeks, Day’Ron Sharpe (left hamstring strain) is expected to make his season debut within the next week, and Nic Claxton (lower back injury management) has been ruled out for Wednesday’s game and is considered day-to-day.

Injury Notes: Nets, Giannis, Morant, Poole, Hayes

November 27th, 2024 at 8:14am CST by Luke Adams

There’s good news and bad news for the Nets on their latest injury report, as Brian Lewis of The New York Post relays. Leading scorer Cam Thomas has been ruled out for Wednesday’s game in Phoenix due to left hamstring soreness. Thomas, who has also dealt with an illness and a sore back as of late, was removed in the third quarter on Monday vs. Golden State to “protect him from himself,” in the words of head coach Jordi Fernandez.

Big man Noah Clowney will join Thomas on the sidelines, having been ruled out for a second straight game due to a left ankle sprain. Brooklyn has yet to provide an update on the results of an MRI Clowney underwent on his injured ankle, Lewis notes.

A banged-up Nets team could get some reinforcements soon, however. According to Lewis, Nic Claxton (lower back soreness), Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle sprain), and Cameron Johnson (right ankle sprain) are all considered questionable to play on Wednesday. Claxton and Finney-Smith each missed Monday’s game, while Johnson exited in the first half.

Ben Simmons is also off the injury report after sitting out on Monday due to lower back injury management.

We have a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:

Originally listed as probable due to a left calf strain, Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was a late scratch vs. Miami on Tuesday due to swelling in his left knee, per Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. As Owczarski notes, Antetokounmpo had surgery on that knee during the summer of 2023.
Grizzlies guard Ja Morant played on Monday for the first time since November 6, but he has been ruled out for Wednesday’s game vs. Detroit due to a new injury, a left knee contusion, writes Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Morant downplayed the ailment after the game on Monday: “A little knee to knee. Everybody know I get back up every time. … Quick little stinger, get out the way and just take care of it now.”
Wizards guard Jordan Poole missed a second straight game on Tuesday due to left hip flexor soreness, per the team (Twitter link). Poole had initially been listed as questionable, so it sounds as if the issue is a day-to-day one rather than one that will keep him sidelined for an extended period.
In his first game back following a two-week absence due to a right ankle sprain, Lakers center Jaxson Hayes re-aggravated that same ankle injury during the final minute of Tuesday’s loss to Phoenix. He had to be helped to the locker room, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter links), who says the team plans to provide an update on Hayes on Wednesday afternoon.

And-Ones: Playoff Format, Trade Market, All-Star Game, More

November 22nd, 2024 at 8:33pm CST by Luke Adams

If the NBA expands to 32 teams in the coming years, executives for Western Conference teams are hopeful it will provide the league an opportunity to revisit the idea of seeding the playoff teams one through 16, regardless of conference, according to Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Insider link).

Assuming Seattle and Las Vegas, the presumed frontrunners, get teams in the next round of expansion, a current Western Conference team – likely one of the Timberwolves, Grizzlies, or Pelicans – would have to move East to balance out the two conferences. Given the relative strength of the East vs. the West, those three clubs may push hard to be the one chosen, but that battle could potentially be avoided by revamping the postseason seeds, Windhorst suggests.

“It would be the right thing to do for the health of the league,” one West general manager told ESPN. “It’s not just about fairness, it’s about giving the fans the best playoff product.”

A change along those lines would require the approval of at least three-quarters of the NBA’s teams (23 of 30), as Bontemps observes, which means at least eight Eastern Conference teams would have to get on board with the idea, potentially voting against their own interests.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Bontemps and Windhorst suggest in the same ESPN story that many scouts and executives around the NBA believe the 2024/25 in-season trade market will take a while to get going. Trades this early in the season are somewhat rare anyway, and new CBA-related restrictions related to aprons and hard caps have only made deals more challenging. “We were looking at a trade concept the other day and there were three reasons the other team wouldn’t be allowed to do it,” one general manager told Windhorst. “One of the rules I didn’t even know about.”
In another Insider-only story for ESPN, Bontemps ranks all 30 NBA teams’ cores, listing each club’s top three building blocks based on both present and future value. The Celtics (Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White) top the list, while the Nets (Nic Claxton, Noah Clowney, Cam Thomas) come in at No. 30.
Joe Vardon and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic provide some additional details on the proposed changes to the NBA’s All-Star format, noting that since the league is expected to split its All-Stars into four teams, the head coaches for the top two teams in each conference (four in total) will likely be invited to All-Star weekend to coach a squad. As Vardon and Vorkunov detail, the current Collective Bargaining Agreement calls for the players on the winning All-Star team to earn $100K, while the players on the losing team earns $25K. The NBA and NBPA need to renegotiate those figures before formally implementing the new format, which would result in three losing teams instead of just one.
In a memo sent to team officials, the NBA urged its players to take extra precautions to secure their homes in the wake of a string of burglaries affecting Bucks big man Bobby Portis and Timberwolves guard Mike Conley, among others. Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press has the story.

Atlantic Notes: Simmons, Claxton, Barnes, Embiid

November 22nd, 2024 at 12:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

Ben Simmons can expect the same reception he usually gets when the Nets travel to Philadelphia tonight, but it’s unlikely to affect him, writes Dan Martin of The New York Post. Simmons, who called the hostile reaction “funny” during his last trip to Philly in February, is finally healthy and contributing on a regular basis, Martin notes. He had 10 points and nine rebounds in Tuesday’s win over Charlotte, which marked the first time this season he has been available for three straight games.

“He likes playing and he’s a competitor,’’ Cam Thomas said of Simmons. “He likes that kind of atmosphere. I’m sure he’ll be ready to go and have an impact and do everything for us on the court.”

There has been speculation that Simmons might be moved by the trade deadline because of his expiring $40.3MM contract. However, the Nets have been better than expected with a 6-9 record that has them in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race. If they decide to pursue a postseason spot ahead of a high draft pick, Simmons could play an important role in helping them win.

“It’s just his presence in that last game, his physicality, his engagement,’’ coach Jordi Fernandez said. “I was very excited to see that. I told him that because he impacted the rest of the group. It’s that energy of, ‘I want to play with him because he’s gonna give me the ball. He’s gonna be physical on defense.’”

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

After missing three games with a back strain, Nets center Nic Claxton plans to return tonight, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post (Twitter link). Claxton told reporters that he’s been experiencing pain in his back since the offseason, and it might be a while before he’s fully healthy.
Scottie Barnes said he “felt great” Thursday night as he returned to the Raptors‘ lineup after missing 11 games with an orbital bone fracture, per Michael Grange of Sportsnet. Grange points out that Barnes replaced Davion Mitchell in the starting lineup and might have the skills to be successful as an oversized point guard even when Immanuel Quickley returns from his injury. “The way he shares the ball, the way he’s playing unselfishly — I don’t want Scottie Barnes to be anything outside of Scottie Barnes,” coach Darko Rajakovic said. “I just need him to be the best version of himself. And when he’s that, he’s really raising the people around him to another level. He’s making everybody around him better.”
Sixers center Joel Embiid attended this morning’s shootaround but wasn’t an active participant, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Embiid is listed as questionable due to the left knee injury management that has affected his availability since the start of the season.

Injury Notes: Nets, Knicks, Spurs, Heat, Rollins

November 21st, 2024 at 12:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Nets center Nic Claxton has returned to practice and will be listed as questionable to play on Friday in Philadelphia, the team announced today (Twitter link via Michael Scotto of HoopsHype).

Claxton has missed the past three games due to a back strain. The club announced last Friday that he would miss at least a week, but it sounds like he might not be out any longer than that.

Another injured Nets center is also inching closer to a return. According to the club, Day’Ron Sharpe has begun one-on-one workouts with coaches and the plan is for him to be integrated into team activities within the next seven-to-10 days. Sharpe has been on the shelf since training camp due to a left hamstring strain.

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

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau provided some injury updates on Wednesday ahead of a victory over Phoenix, as Stefan Bondy of The New York Post relays. Precious Achiuwa (hamstring) is expected to be cleared to practice during the team’s current five-game road trip, while Mitchell Robinson (ankle) has started shooting but hasn’t yet been cleared to practice or run. Bondy says Robinson is more likely to return sometime in the new year than in December and adds that Miles McBride (knee) is considered “a true day-to-day” and could return as early as Saturday in Utah.
Victor Wembanyama (right knee contusion) and Devin Vassell (left knee soreness) will each miss a third consecutive game on Thursday when the Spurs take on Utah, but the team considers both players day-to-day and doesn’t view either issue as serious, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. “I don’t feel like it will be too extended of a time,” acting head coach Mitch Johnson said. “Minor stuff. … Both of them want to be out there very badly.”
Jaime Jaquez (ankle), Terry Rozier (foot), and Josh Richardson (heel) didn’t participate in the Heat‘s practice on Thursday, tweets Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. Rozier underwent an MRI on his sore right foot, which has been an issue throughout the season and caused him to miss Monday’s game vs. Philadelphia, but that MRI came back clean and he’s aiming to return to action on Sunday vs. Dallas, according to Winderman and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter links).
The Bucks are now listing Ryan Rollins‘ injury as a “left shoulder dislocation” rather than “left shoulder instability,” but head coach Doc Rivers expects the two-way guard to try to rehab the injury and play through it rather than undergoing surgery, as Eric Nehm of The Athletic tweets. “I’m able to do things on it. So it’s kind of one of those decisions like, are you willing to endure some of the pain of it. Pain tolerance, honestly,” Rollins said, per Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Are you willing to play through it? Is it important enough for you to play at this moment? A bunch of variables went in to it. I feel like I’m good enough to play though for right now.”

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