Nikola Jokic

Latest On Nuggets’ Dismissals Of Calvin Booth, Michael Malone

April 10th, 2025 at 9:45am CST by Dana Gauruder

Team officials and players had grown weary of the disconnect between Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth and head coach Michael Malone. That, plus a desire to audition top assistant David Adelman for the head coaching job, led to the dismissals of both Booth and Malone, The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Tony Jones report.

Booth wanted to fire Malone as the team struggled down the stretch but knew he no longer had the power to make that bold move because of his contract situation. In the last year of his deal after failing to sign extension with ownership, Booth figured he would have to wait until after the playoffs to dismiss Malone, depending upon how the team performed.

Instead, owner Stan Kroenke and team president Josh Kroenke chose to part with both of them. The Kroenkes had made previous efforts to repair the relationship between Booth and Malone to no avail and ultimately decided to get rid of the negativity that was affecting the team. The team’s most important players, including Nikola Jokic, had grown frustrated and weary by Malone’s fiery approach.

Having replaced Malone shortly before the regular season ended, Adelman will have a chance to show whether he should have the interim tag removed after the postseason. Adelman has the support of the team’s regulars due to his steady and calm demeanor.

The ownership group is also aware that Adelman, whose contract is expiring, could have other head coaching opportunities. The Trail Blazers are likely to pursue him if they decide to fire Chauncey Billups, league sources tell Amick and Jones.

Here’s more from The Athletic’s in-depth reporting:

It’s expected that the Kroenkes will mull a possible reunion with Tim Connelly, the former Nuggets GM who took over as the Timberwolves’ top exec in May 2022. Connelly has an opt-out in his contract for this summer. However, it’s believed that the Timberwolves’ new owners, Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore, will try to retain him. If the Nuggets can’t pry away Connelly, they could instead make a run at Minnesota GM Matt Lloyd.
Malone had more input on personnel decisions when Connelly ran the show. Once Booth took over, Malone had much less influence and that irked the head coach. Booth had considered firing Malone prior to the team’s 2023 championship run.
Booth had extensive discussions with the Kroenkes heading into the season but chose not to sign what he believed was a below-market offer. However, Booth believed that an extension was a mere formality. The Kroenkes pulled their offer when the club got off to a mediocre start.
As previously reported, Booth wanted Malone to give more minutes to the younger guys that he drafted, particularly Jalen Pickett and Peyton Watson. After the team was eliminated by Minnesota last season, Booth thought Malone should have expanded the rotation during the regular season to keep the top players fresher, while Malone thought Booth should have given him a more well-rounded roster.
Booth’s offseason decisions to give Zeke Nnaji a four-year contract and sign Dario Saric further strained the relationship. Malone hasn’t used either player in the rotation in recent months. Malone’s decision to stick with Russell Westbrook, another offseason pickup, over Pickett also caused considerable friction.
Westbrook’s future with the organization, even if he picks up his $3.4MM option, is uncertain. Adelman was quicker to sub out Westbrook for Pickett during the team’s win over the Kings on Wednesday. Jamal Murray is expected to return from his hamstring injury on Friday.

More Details On Nuggets’ Decision To Fire Malone, Booth

April 9th, 2025 at 3:37pm CST by Rory Maher

While the timing of the Nuggets‘ firings of head coach Michael Malone and Calvin Booth was certainly surprising, team president Josh Kroenke and his father, owner Stan Kroenke, had decided “days earlier” to move on from both when the season ended, according to Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. A season-worst four-game losing streak — and the possibility of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2018 — accelerated that timeline.

Malone and Booth continually butted heads over lineup and roster decisions since Denver won its first title in 2023, resulting in a culture in which “coaches don’t trust the front office and front office (employees) don’t trust the coaches,” as one source told Durando.

According to Durando’s sources, part of the impetus behind ownership’s decision to fire the winningest coach in team history was that “multiple key players” began tuning out Malone’s messaging, something he seemed to allude to last month after a loss in Portland.

“They’re not going to go back and watch their minutes, because nobody watches their minutes,” Malone said at the time. “Nobody watches film. So we’ll have to show them the film.”

The bickering between Malone and Booth only got worse over time.

“It wasn’t fun to be around that environment,” another source told The Post. “Everyone was waiting for an endpoint.”

Here’s more on the dismissals of Malone and Booth:

Malone was frustrated both privately and publicly about the Nuggets’ defensive regression, but their decline on that end of the court also factored into the organization’s frustration with its coach, according to Durando. After having the eighth-ranked defense last season, Denver has fallen to 20th in 2024/25.
Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports also hears the tension between the coach and GM “began to mount” during Denver’s late-season skid, with Booth making lineup suggestions that Malone disagreed with and which he did not take “kindly.” Booth was also critical of Malone’s coaching and usage of Jamal Murray, league sources tell Goodwill. Booth wanted Malone to push Murray more defensively and play him fewer minutes — he’s averaging a career-high 36.3 MPG and is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury which might jeopardize his postseason availability.
League sources told Yahoo Sports in January that Malone was likely to resign from his position after the season due to his poor relationship with Booth. Malone was reportedly under contract through 2027, while Booth was on an expiring deal.
Harrison Wind and Brendan Vogt of DNVR Sports (subscriber link) discuss why the Nuggets chose to fire Malone and Booth, and why the team made the decision with only three regular season games remaining on its schedule.
Durando of The Denver Post lists five candidates to replace Booth as general manager, including assistant GM Tommy Balcetis, who has been with the franchise since 2013.
In a similar story for The Post, Luca Evans lists 10 candidates to replace Malone, including interim head coach David Adelman, a longtime assistant. Frank Vogel and Taylor Jenkins are among the other coaches listed.
How did opposing head coaches react to Malone’s firing? Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press has the story and quotes.
The timing of the decision to fire Malone and Booth was “rude, crude and disrespectful,” according to Mark Kiszla of The Denver Gazette, but he contends it was overdue, since their broken relationship was wasting the prime of Nikola Jokic, who is having one of the best individual seasons in NBA history.
Mark Medina of RG.org views the situation differently, arguing that ownership is ultimately “at the heart” of the disconnect between the coaching staff and front office.

Latest On Firings Of Nuggets Coach Michael Malone, GM Calvin Booth

April 8th, 2025 at 6:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The sudden firings of Nuggets head coach Michael Malone and GM Calvin Booth blindsided virtually everyone around the league, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (video link). Windhorst said the moves were driven by the team’s ownership.

“Extremely shocking you would move on from a coach this late in the season no matter the circumstances, especially when he’s the winningest coach in the history of the team and led you to a championship two years ago, even if there were difficulties in the locker room or within the front office,” Windhorst said. “That he would not be allowed to have the playoffs to try to deal with it is very, very surprising.”

Moving on from Booth was much less eye-opening, except for the timing of the move. In fact, it was anticipated that this would be Booth’s last season in the organization.

“This was less surprising to the league, however, because Calvin Booth’s contract is up after this season. They’ve had negotiations throughout the season and it broke down, it wasn’t going well,” Windhorst said.

There was friction between the coach and GM, mainly due to Booth wanting Malone to play his recent draft picks more often, according to Windhorst.

Here’s more on the Nuggets late-season purge:

The remainder of the staff held onto their jobs, at least through the rest of the season, The Athletic trio of Tony Jones, Sam Amick and Zach Powell report. David Adelman was named interim head coach. The assistants are all on expiring deals, however, which signals a much different staff could be in place next season.
Expanding on the notion Booth was upset about rotation moves, The Athletic noted that Booth wanted Malone to play Jalen Pickett over Russell Westbrook during the stretch run. Booth was also unhappy that Zeke Nnaji, who was signed to a four-year deal, hasn’t gotten much playing time and that another free agent signee, Dario Saric, fell out of favor with Malone before December.
The team’s defensive decline played a significant part in the recent rise in organizational frustration, The Athletic adds. Denver has lost its last four games, mainly due to defensive breakdowns.
The coaches were frustrated by, among other things, recent front office-led additions to the coaching staff, Ian Begley of SNY TV tweets.
Nikola Jokic was informed of the decision earlier today before it was announced, Matt Moore of Action Network tweets. Jokic had not requested a change in the front office or coaching staff, though his frustration with the way the team has performed this season played a role in ownership’s decision-making process.
A panel of ESPN insiders shared their thoughts on the firings, including how the moves might affect their playoff run and Jokic’s future, particularly since he’s extension-eligible this offseason.
In an interview posted by the team and relayed by Nuggets reporter Katy Winge (Twitter link), team governor Josh Kroenke said he didn’t make a rash decision. “Having observed that group over a period of time there were certain trends that were very worrisome to me at different points in time. But they would get masked by a few wins here and there,” he said.
Booth had a diplomatic response to losing his job, Jones tweets. “I don’t have any regrets. I did my job to the best of my ability,” he said.
Negotiations between Booth and ownership regarding an extension was at the “one-yard line” early this season before Booth turned down Kroenke’s offer, Bennett Durando of the Denver Post reports.

Nuggets Notes: Pickett, Jokic, Kerr, Westbrook

April 5th, 2025 at 2:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jalen Pickett has received extensive playing time for the Nuggets in the first three games of the month. Pickett is averaging 11.3 points, 6.0 assists and 5.3 assists in 30.3 minutes per night and hasn’t committed a turnover in two of those three contests. “He’s proven himself to be trustworthy,” coach Michael Malone told Bennett Durando of the Denver Post.

Pickett, a second-round pick in 2023, signed a four-year contract in July of that year.

We have more on the Nuggets:

While Nikola Jokic is considered an offensive superstar, advanced stats suggest he has quietly become an elite defender as well, ESPN’s Chris Herring and Tim MacMahon write. They note that Jokic has finished first in defensive box plus-minus, which measures a player’s box-score defensive impact and value to his team per 100 possessions, for the past three seasons. He’s within striking distance of doing it again. “He knew that if they wanted to win at a high level and become a champion, he couldn’t be a liability. Now he’s become a strength on that side of the floor and learned how to anchor a defense,” Warriors forward Draymond Green said. “He literally willed himself to become better on defense.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr has high praise for Jokic, Eurohoops.net relays. “It’s unfair to compare eras, but he’s the best center I’ve ever seen. For one year, I’ve played against Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar], I’ve watched him obviously. Kareem couldn’t do all this stuff,” Kerr said. “And again, eras dictate a lot of that. We’re in the modern era, and we’re watching a guy who’s doing things that nobody has ever done before. It goes so far beyond the skill level, it’s the competitiveness, the intelligence: he’s absolutely one of the smartest players ever, and you see it in so many different ways.”
With Jamal Murray sidelined once again due to a hamstring injury, Russell Westbrook had a rough outing in a loss to the Warriors on Friday night, Durando points out. He shot 2-for-9 from the field and committed four turnovers in 20 minutes.
Westbrook made a couple of late mistakes that proved costly in a double-overtime loss to Minnesota on Tuesday night. The Athletic’s Tony Jones describes why the Nuggets need the best version of the veteran guard to make a deep playoff run this season.

Award Candidates Who Still Need To Reach 65-Game Mark

April 2nd, 2025 at 12:59pm CST by Luke Adams

There are just 12 days left in the 2024/25 regular season, which means time is running out for certain end-of-season award candidates to meet the 65-game minimum to qualify for consideration.

A player doesn’t need to reach that 65-game mark in order to be eligible for Sixth Man of the Year, Rookie of the Year, or All-Rookie teams, but it’s a necessary requirement for most of the marquee awards: Most Valuable Player, All-NBA, Defensive Player of the Year, All-Defense, and Most Improved Player.

According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), the following players who could be in the mix for one or more of those awards haven’t yet met the 65-game criteria, but still have a chance to do so:

Evan Mobley, Cavaliers (64 games played)
LeBron James, Lakers (64)
Jalen Williams, Thunder (64)
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks (63)
Stephen Curry, Warriors (63)
Amen Thompson, Rockets (63)
Kevin Durant, Suns (62)
Jalen Brunson, Knicks (61)
Domantas Sabonis, Kings (61)
Scottie Barnes, Raptors (61)
Draymond Green, Warriors (60)
Jaylen Brown, Celtics (59)
Damian Lillard, Bucks (59)
Jrue Holiday, Celtics (58)

In some cases, a player’s actual games played total doesn’t match up with the figure noted above. That’s because in order for a game to count before the 65-game minimum, the player must be on the court for at least 20 minutes. A player is also permitted to count a maximum of two games between 15 and 20 minutes toward that minimum.

Let’s use Mobley as an example. The Cavaliers big man has technically appeared in 66 games this season, but he played just 12 minutes in one of those games, 18 minutes in two of them, and 19 minutes in one. That means he only has 64 games that actually count toward the minimum — all 62 games in which he played 20-plus minutes, along with two of those games between 15-20 minutes.

Mobley will have to play at least 20 minutes once more this season in order to be eligible for awards like Defensive Player of the Year, All-Defense, and All-NBA. Given that he’s healthy and the Cavs still have seven games left on their schedule, Mobley should have no problem meeting that requirement. But it’ll be a taller order for some of the other players on this list.

Durant is currently sidelined with an ankle sprain and has been ruled out for at least two more games. He would have to play 20-plus minutes in three of the Suns‘ final four games to be award-eligible. Brunson, on the shelf due to his own ankle sprain, is in a similar boat, though the Knicks guard has a chance to return before Durant does.

Lillard, who is out indefinitely after being diagnosed with a blood clot in his calf, seems pretty unlikely to play in six of the Bucks‘ last seven games. Holiday is healthy but has no wiggle room to miss any of the Celtics‘ remaining seven games.

Many of this year’s other top award contenders have already met the 65-game criteria. Nuggets center Nikola Jokic did so in style on Tuesday night — his 65th game of the season was an incredible 61-point triple-double in a 140-139 double-overtime loss to Minnesota.

However, according to the latest straw poll conducted by Tim Bontemps of ESPN, Jokic is the clear runner-up to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (who has played 72 games) in the MVP race. Of the 100 media members polled by Bontemps, 77 picked the Thunder guard as their Most Valuable Player, while just 23 chose Jokic. The three-time MVP may need a couple more performances like Tuesday’s in order to close that gap by the end of the season.

Besides Jokic, one other notable player who has narrowly eclipsed the 65-game minimum is Cade Cunningham. The Pistons guard has missed four games in a row with a left calf injury and is considered doubtful to return on Wednesday, but he played his 65th game on March 19, prior to his recent absence.

That’s especially important for Cunningham and the Pistons because, as Bontemps notes, the fourth-year guard is considered a virtual lock to earn a spot on one of this year’s All-NBA teams, which will ensure that his maximum-salary rookie scale extension begins at 30% of the 2025/26 salary cap instead of 25%. That would increase the overall projected value of Cunningham’s five-year deal from $224.2MM to $269.1MM.

Nuggets Notes: Jokic, Watson, MPJ

March 27th, 2025 at 6:10pm CST by Rory Maher

Nuggets head coach Michael Malone was “nervous” ahead of Wednesday’s matchup with Milwaukee due to the absences of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, as Bennett Durando of The Denver Post relays. Malone explained that teams have a tendency to “relax” when facing shorthanded rosters — just a couple weeks ago, Denver pulled off a major upset in Golden State without Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic.

While it may not have been the best version of the Nuggets, particularly defensively, they came out victorious in Jokic’s first game back from elbow and ankle injuries. The three-time MVP looked rejuvenated after being sidelined for the previous five games leading up to Wednesday, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic, who writes that Jokic had been playing through the ailments for a while before he and the training staff decided he needed time off to heal.

“I felt a lot better than I thought I was going to feel,” said Jokic, who finished with 39 points (on 16-of-25 shooting), 10 rebounds and 10 assists. “I don’t want to say percentages or anything, but I feel much better than I thought I was going to be. I still feel the ankle a little bit, but it’s much, much, much less than how it was before.

“I think the most important thing is that we were able to win the game. What we want to do is figure out how to establish a rhythm in these last stretch of games. We want to be able to go to the playoffs and perform at our peak, and we can’t do that without being on the floor. We have to find some consistency. That’s what I want out of the rest of the regular season.”

Here’s more on the Nuggets:

Jokic’s left ankle injury — an impingement — was particularly problematic, with the 30-year-old center telling reporters after the game that he was unable to jump off that leg for a time, per Luca Evans of The Denver Post. “It was really painful, and it was just better to feel good,” Jokic said. “And I don’t want to be on the floor and be nervous because I cannot play how I want to play, and on the level that I want to play.” Jokic is known for his durability and willingness to play through injuries.
Third-year forward Peyton Watson, who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension in the offseason, has been playing some of his best basketball of the season as of late, Durando writes for The Denver Post. “Peyton’s playing so good,” Murray raved. “He’s not just playing with confidence, but he’s being so active on both ends of the floor. Cutting, moving even if he doesn’t get it, setting screens, rebounding, back-taps, running the floor, causing confusion.” Over the past six games, the 22-year-old is averaging 13.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.3 blocks while shooting 58.2% from the field (50% from deep) in 30.2 minutes per contest.
Michael Porter Jr. broke out of a prolonged slump in Wednesday’s win, finishing with 23 points on just nine field goal attempts (he made seven, including 6-of-8 from three-point range). After the game, Porter said a lingering hamstring injury was to blame for his shooting woes — he’s at 33.3% from three since the All-Star break, compared to 41.7% in 52 games before the break. If the Nuggets hope to win another title in 2025, they’ll need a much more consistent version of Porter in the postseason, according to Troy Renck of The Denver Post, who argues that the 26-year-old is a detriment to the team when he isn’t making shots.

Nikola Jokic Returning For Nuggets Wednesday

March 26th, 2025 at 7:16pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Three-time MVP Nuggets center Nikola Jokic is returning to the hardwood for Denver’s Wednesday clash with the Bucks, the team has announced (via Twitter).

The 6’11” superstar had been on the shelf for Denver since the club’s 126-123 loss against Washington on March 15 due to a left ankle impingement.

Milwaukee, conversely, will be missing both of its nine-time All-Stars — plus two rotational big men, to boot.

Bucks guard Damian Lillard is out indefinitely due to a blood clot in his right calf. He’ll be joined on the bench by two-time MVP forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who’s dealing with a sprained left foot, Milwaukee announced today (Twitter link).

Jokic is angling to pick up his fourth MVP honor across the last five years. He’s averaging a triple-double for the 45-28 Nuggets, with excellent shooting efficiency. The seven-time All-Star is averaging 29.1 PPG, 12.8 RPG, 10.3 APG, 1.8 SPG and 0.7 BPG. He’s connecting on .575/.413/.807 shooting splits.

Denver has also made Jokic’s fellow starters Christian Braun, Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon available. Braun is dealing with a left foot strain, Porter has a strained low back, and Gordon is managing a right calf injury plus a left ankle sprain.

The absences of Antetokounmpo and Lillard are compounded by the long-term unavailability of sixth man big Bobby Portis (suspension) and reserve center Jericho Sims (thumb surgery), both out until at least April.

Injury/Health Notes: Lillard, Tatum, Jokic, Sheppard

March 26th, 2025 at 7:55am CST by Luke Adams

After initially being listed as out last week due to calf soreness, Damian Lillard was experiencing discomfort and pain inconsistent with a typical calf strain, according to Eric Nehm and Sam Amick of The Athletic, who hear from a source that the Bucks guard sought clarity on the cause.

That prompted a “rigorous discovery process” that ultimately involved Lillard meeting with five of the country’s top hematologists, either in person or via Zoom, with each of those specialists receiving his MRIs and sonograms. Lillard, who was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in his calf, began taking blood thinners last Friday, per The Athletic’s source, and the early indications are that the treatment is working well.

In a separate story for The Athletic, Nehm explores how the Bucks will get by without Lillard, noting that leaning on defense is probably their best path forward. That effort begins with having a strong perimeter defender like Ryan Rollins starting in place of Lillard.

“Obviously, nobody is going to be Dame but Dame,” Bucks center Brook Lopez said earlier this week. “But (Rollins) has done a great job coming in, being himself and finding a niche, that like Dame, only he can do. It’s specifically Ryan. He comes out there and he makes a difference in his way. He gets into guys, defends them full-court, picks up 94 feet.”

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

The Celtics‘ injury report for Wednesday’s game in Phoenix is another sign that Jayson Tatum‘s ankle injury isn’t significant. Tatum isn’t expected to play vs. the Suns, but he hasn’t officially been ruled out yet — he’s listed as doubtful (Twitter link).
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, who has missed the team’s past five games, has been upgraded to doubtful for Wednesday’s matchup with Milwaukee (Twitter link via DNVR Sports). Jokic’s initial injury report designation last week indicated he was dealing with both a right elbow contusion and a left ankle impingement, but only the ankle issue is still listed, which suggests the elbow is no longer a problem.
Rockets rookie Reed Sheppard, out since March 6 with a fracture in his right thumb, had a scan on Sunday that showed good calcification around the fractured bone, according to head coach Ime Udoka, who said on Tuesday that Sheppard would be reevaluated in four or five days. Sheppard is still wearing a splint on the thumb part-time, but he takes it off when he works out, per Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).

Nuggets Notes: Jokic, Braun, First-Round Opponents, Jordan

March 23rd, 2025 at 9:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Nikola Jokic missed his fourth straight game on Sunday vs. the Rockets due to a left ankle impingement but Nuggets coach Michael Malone is hopeful his superstar center won’t be out much longer, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.

The Nuggets begin a five-game homestand after playing at Houston, starting with a matchup against the Bulls on Monday. Malone said Jokic won’t play in that contest, but he believes the three-time MVP can return sometime during the stretch of home games.

“We’re just trying to get home and kind of see where he’s at,” Malone said. “It’d be great to have a chance to get our starting five some run together, because we haven’t had a lot of opportunity to do that this season.”

Jokic and Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are the top candidates for this season’s Most Valuable Player award.

We have more on the Nuggets:

Christian Braun has quietly moved into the conversation for the league’s Most Improved Player award, Bennett Durando of the Denver Post writes. “I would hope that I’m in that mix,” he said. “I know there’s a lot of guys that get a lot of mentions, and they deserve it, too. But I want to be in that mix. I feel like I work hard to be in that mix. And that’s not just an individual award. I think that it shows how good those guys around me are, too.” As Durando points out, Braun posted one 20-point performance in his first two seasons, but has 16 of them this year. He’s averaging 15.2 points (a 7.9 point increase from last season), 5.0 rebounds (up 35%), 2.4 assists (up 50%) and 1.1 steals (up 120%) per game.
The Clippers and Rockets are the two best matchups among the Nuggets’ potential first-round opponents, Durando opines. The Clippers may not be as equipped to expose Denver’s defensive deficiencies and league-low three-point volume, he notes. The Lakers and Timberwolves would present the most problems for them in the first round, in Durando’s estimation.
DeAndre Jordan played 38 minutes on Sunday after not getting off the bench in the previous 10 games. He contributed 11 points and 15 rebounds in a five-point win over the Rockets. “DJ is one of the best defensive rebounders. He’s one of our best rim protectors and if we’re getting our butts kicked on the glass, let me put out one of our biggest, strongest guys that has a very impressive 17-year resume,” Malone said (video link). “Special day for Deandre because this is where he’s from, playing in front of a lot of family and friends. Fifteen rebounds, 12 defensive, four assists, a steal — did a lot of really good things for us.” Jordan, 36, was re-signed on a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal last summer and will be a free agent again this offseason.

Northwest Notes: Avdija, Walker, Nuggets, Jokic, Ingles

March 22nd, 2025 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija is enjoying the best scoring stretch of his career, writes Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. Avdija posted a season-high 36 points in Friday’s win over Denver, bringing him to 162 over the last six games. He was a productive scorer during his first four NBA seasons in Washington, but he has raised his game since being traded to Portland last summer.

“I don’t think I’ve played like this before,” he said. “I think I knew I had it in me. But I’m not really thinking about it. I’m just playing. I’m just free. I love playing around the guys. I love making plays. I love being on the court with our team, regardless of how I score or how much I score.”

Avdija is among the reasons Portland has become a surprise contender for the final play-in spot in the West. Not only is he scoring at a career-best rate of 15.9 PPG, he’s also pushing the ball up-court and setting up teammates, averaging 5.7 assists during those same six games.

“His play-making is getting better,” coach Chauncey Billups said. “He actually cares about play-making. He’s learning and learning and learning about his guys. They’re learning him.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Jabari Walker, who missed the past four games while in concussion protocol, is listed as questionable for the Trail Blazers‘ meeting with Boston on Sunday, tweets Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report. Anfernee Simons and Donovan Clingan, who sat out Friday’s game due to illness, are also questionable.
The defensive issues that have been plaguing the Nuggets were on display again Friday at Portland, observes Troy Renck of The Denver Post. They surrendered 128 points to a Blazers team that was missing its leading scorer and fell to 8-8 since the All-Star break. Renck adds that losing Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the last two offseasons has left coach Michael Malone with no answers for certain matchup problems.
Nuggets star Nikola Jokic will miss his fourth straight game Sunday in Houston with a left ankle impingement, according to Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Post (Twitter link). Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun are all probable.
Joe Ingles hasn’t played much this season, but Timberwolves coach Chris Finch put him in the starting lineup on Friday so his eight-year-old autistic son could watch him play, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Jacob Ingles was recently able to sit through his first game without sensory overload, and Finch wanted to do something to honor the family. “This is the stuff,” Ingles said, “I’ll remember forever.”

Load More Posts