And-Ones: Towns, Media Rights, California Classic, Howard
Timberwolves forward/center Karl-Anthony Towns has been named the NBA’s Social Justice Champion for the 2023/24 season, the league announced in a press release.
The four-time All-Star is a voting rights advocate and supported Minnesota’s Restore the Vote bill last year, which “restores the right to vote to thousands of formerly incarcerated individuals.” Towns also advocates for changes to the criminal justice and education systems in the U.S.
Heat center Bam Adebayo, Pelicans guard CJ McCollum, Thunder wing Lindy Waters and Clippers guard Russell Westbrook were the other finalists.
Here’s more from around the basketball world:
- On an earnings call, TNT (Warner Bros. Discovery) CEO David Zaslav was cautiously optimistic about retaining media rights to NBA games, per Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. “We’ve had a lot of time to prepare for this negotiation, and we have strategies in place for the various potential outcomes,” Zaslav said. “However, now is not the time to discuss any of this since we are in active negotiations with the league. And under our current deal with the NBA, we have matching rights that allow us to match third-party offers before the NBA enters into an agreement with them.”
- Zaslav’s comments came on the heels of various reports saying NBC has submitted a $2.5 billion bid to be the league’s third media rights partner, joining ESPN/ABC (Disney) and Amazon, which already have framework deals in place. According to Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal, NBC is still viewed as the frontrunner, ahead of TNT.
- The 2024 California Classic will be co-hosted by the Kings and Warriors, as Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee relays. California’s Summer League – a prelude to Las Vegas Summer League – will take place from July 6-10 and will feature 12 total games. The Kings, Hornets and Spurs will play in Sacramento and the Warriors, Lakers and Heat will play in San Francisco. Sacramento will head to the Chase Center to face Golden State on July 10 to wrap up the event, Anderson writes.
- Former NBA guard Markus Howard was granted permission to play for Puerto Rico ahead of the country’s Olympic qualifying tournament this summer, the federation announced in a press release. The former Marquette star led the EuroLeague in scoring while playing for Spain’s Baskonia this season, BasketNews notes. “We are very happy to welcome Markus to our national team,” said Carlos Arroyo, general manager of Puerto Rico’s national team. “Markus has become one of the best players in Europe, and for us, it is a luxury to have him. His offensive level will raise the expectations of our team.”
Clippers Notes: Future Skepticism, Westbrook, Lue, Championship Window
The Clippers will play in a new arena next season but they’ll have to hope their current core group can produce a better playoff run, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN writes.
Team president Lawrence Frank declared on Monday that he’ll try to re-sign Paul George, who can opt out of his contract, and James Harden, who will be an unrestricted free agent.
Kawhi Leonard, who signed a three-year extension, only appeared in two games during the first round due to injury. Despite the age of the team, Frank said it’s not far-fetched to believe they’ll have better health during the next postseason.
“I understand the skepticism of, ‘Hey, this is another year where you haven’t had the group [whole],'” he said.“But I would guard against the cynicism. Just because it’s happened [four straight seasons] doesn’t mean it’s always going to happen next year.”
They will have to cling to that hope because they don’t have much choice except to run it back with Leonard, George and Harden, Youngmisuk adds.
We have more on the Clippers:
- Russell Westbrook has a $4MM player option to ponder and stated in an Instagram post that he was just fine with being a key reserve for the team. “I, for one, enjoyed my year, and worked hard to bring the energy and provide a spark for each opportunity I was given,” he wrote in part, adding, “I hope to come back better, stronger, and remain eager to take on any role that continues to put us in the best position to win next season!”
- The Clippers can’t afford to offer Westbrook significantly more if he opts out but Frank said the players would hate to lose him, Mark Medina of Sportskeeda.com relays. “Guys in the locker room love Russ,” Frank said. “Got a lot of respect for Russ, what he’s done for his career and what he’s done for the Clippers. He’s one of the game’s great players.”
- The front office has, by all indications, prioritized an extension agreement with head coach Tyronn Lue, according to Medina. Lue has one year left on his deal. “He has a great way of connecting while still holding guys accountable,” Frank said. “He’s a truth teller without leaving scars or wounds. He’s an unbelievable strategist who makes terrific in-game adjustments. And he has a growth mindset in that he’s always looking to get better. So our hope is that Ty is here for a long time. We love Ty.”
- The championship window for this group has closed, Law Murray of The Athletic opines. The conference is too strong and dotted with younger stars leading teams such as Oklahoma City and Minnesota, Murray notes. He adds that the past three years have proven that the team cannot seriously contend with aging, injury-prone stars in Leonard and George. However, Frank disagreed. “We are still big believers that the window is still open,” Frank said, as Murray relays. “But also acknowledge the fact that we can understand the skepticism with it, and there are no guarantees either way.”
Frank: Clippers Will Look To Keep Core Group Intact
The Clippers are hopeful of bringing back their core group despite the team’s first-round loss to Dallas, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank told assembled media during a Monday press conference.
Kawhi Leonard has already signed a three-year extension but the team’s three other big stars could all depart. Paul George has a $48.8MM player option on his contract for next season, while James Harden will be an unrestricted free agent. Russell Westbrook holds a $4MM option on his 2024/25 contract.
The Clippers and George chose to defer extension talks around the All-Star break, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
“We’d like to be able to bring back and retain Paul and James,” Frank said. “We’re hopeful we can, but also understand and respect the fact that they’re free agents. Paul has a decision with his option. James will be an unrestricted free agent, so our intent is to bring him back, but also realize that they’re elite players and they’ll have choices.”
The Sixers and Magic are expected to pursue George if he opts out, Janis Carr of the Orange County Register writes.
George is eligible to sign up to a four-year, $221MM extension, though it’s reasonable to assume the Clippers are pursuing a lesser amount, considering that they failed to reach an agreement during the season. Shams Charania of The Athletic confirmed on FanDuel’s Run it Back show (Twitter video link) on Monday that L.A. has offered George less than his full max.
“We want Paul, we value Paul,” Frank said. “Paul’s done some tremendous things here. He’s an elite player, and our biggest thing is we always want to be able to treat players well and pay them fairly, and we also have to build out a team, especially, this is a new CBA. But in terms of the exact money, I would never go into details other than we’ve had really, really good conversations over the course of the year and hopeful that we can get him to remain a Clipper.”
Harden said right after the series that he “hadn’t even thought” about his free agency.
As for Westbrook, Frank said he’d hold discussions with the former MVP regarding his role next season, if he decides to opt in. Westbrook was the team’s sixth man for a majority of the season.
“I’ll sit down with Russ. (Tyronn Lue) will sit down with Russ, talk with his representatives and you kind of outline what the role is going forward,” Frank said, per Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. “It’s very similar to when Russ came last summer. Like, we explained to him exactly what his role is, what it could be, the different guys that we’re looking at and then Russ has a decision to make. And so we’re kind of going through the process. So, I’m not going to speak for any player in terms of what they’re thinking, but that’s our process.”
Frank said he’ll also pursue extensions with center Ivica Zubac and wing Terance Mann, per Carr, then look to make marginal improvements if he’s able to retain his stars.
Clippers Notes: George, Harden, Westbrook, Lue, Tucker, More
Even after a disappointing exit in the first round of the playoffs, the Clippers are expected to make a strong push to bring back both Paul George (player option) and James Harden (unrestricted free agent) this offseason, Sam Amick and Law Murray of The Athletic write. Despite failing to advance past the first round since 2021, team owner Steve Ballmer still has faith in this core.
The Clippers’ poor injury luck during the Kawhi Leonard era prevented them from seeing this roster at full strength for long, but they did win 26 of 31 games from December to February at full health. That, according to The Athletic, is seemingly a big reason behind L.A.’s eagerness to run it back. Even though Ballmer wants to keep things going with this core as the Clips on their new home floor in Intuit Dome next season, the nuanced contract negotiations with George, Harden, coach Tyronn Lue and Russell Westbrook may complicate things, Amick and Murray write.
George has been eligible for an extension all season, and while negotiations have been extensive, the lack of a deal leaves the possibility open for the nine-time All-Star to depart for a cap-space team like Philadelphia or Orlando. Though George holds a player option worth $48.7MM, he’s widely expected to decline it and become an unrestricted free agent if no extension is reached. Los Angeles wants George to accept a deal similar in structure to what Leonard agreed on, which saved L.A. approximately $9.9MM. A non-max deal would help the team financially going forward as it surely crosses the restrictive second tax apron by bringing back George and Harden.
Harden wants to continue with the Clippers and he’s happy to be with the team, but it could get tricky to keep him if he seeks a max contract. Meanwhile, Westbrook accepted a reserve role in L.A. and while he found success in the regular season, he may look for an opportunity to start elsewhere.
As for Lue, while Clippers’ officials praise the work the veteran coach has done, there have been no discussions about an extension, according to Amick and Murray. Friday reports indicated the Clips plan to pursue an extension with Lue, but those conversations have not yet taken place. According to The Athletic, the Clippers know they can’t improve on Lue and expect him to be the coach next season, likely blocking other teams from trying to talk to him. For his part, Lue expressed an interest in making a long-term commitment to the Clippers during his series-ending media availability (Twitter link via Michael Scotto of HoopsHype).
“I didn’t come here to bounce around and go all over the place,” Lue said. “Mr. Ballmer, Lawrence [Frank], Mark [Hughes], and Trent [Redden] have all been great to me. This is where I want to be. Hopefully, they feel the same way.”
We have more from the Clippers:
- Forward P.J. Tucker is expected to exercise his $11.5MM player option for next season, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto. This comes as no surprise, as Tucker averaged career lows in minutes and points this season. Tucker was frustrated with his role this season and Los Angeles sent him home at one point. Scotto’s piece lines up with the reporting from The Athletic regarding the futures of George, Harden, Lue and Westbrook. In addition to writing about those four, Scotto speculates on what president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank‘s future with the organization looks like.
- Including George, the Clippers have eight players eligible to sign extensions this offseason, ESPN’s Bobby Marks writes in his 2024 offseason guide. Role players Norman Powell, Terance Mann and Ivica Zubac are among the extension-eligible players. Mann, an unrestricted free agent in 2025, is eligible to sign a four-year extension worth $78.7MM.
- Leonard missed games in the playoffs for the Clippers for the fourth straight season, but according to his teammates, he tried to play more in this series. “[Kawhi] wanted to be out there, wanted to be with us… it was more staff keeping him back,” George said, per The Orange County Register’s Mirjam Swanson (Twitter link). Leonard appeared in two postseason games this year, averaging 12.0 points per contest.
- George didn’t speak much on his upcoming free agency after the Game 6 loss, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. “Yeah,” George said on if he sees himself with the Clippers long term. “If it works that way, absolutely. … I’m not even focused on that yet. I got a lot to kind of digest myself, so I haven’t even got to that yet. Look forward to kind of going back, just letting everything kind of decompress, talk to my family, be around family support and then address the next step. … Yeah, it’s just not where I’m there. I’m not there yet.“
Clippers Notes: Harden, Game 5 Loss, Leonard, Coffey
Clippers guard James Harden drew praise for his strong play in the first four games of the team’s first-round series with Dallas.
However, in Wednesday’s 30-point home loss, the 34-year-old turned in the latest in a lengthy history of dreadful playoff performances, going 2-of-12 from the field and scoring just seven points in 33 minutes, per Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times. Harden did not speak to the media after the game, notes Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times.
As Hernandez writes, Harden wasn’t the only Clipper who played poorly, with Paul George (15 points on 4-of-13 shooting) and Russell Westbrook (six points on 2-of-11 shooting) struggling as well. But L.A. obviously needs more from Harden, who will be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason, if it hopes to advance.
According to Ben Golliver of The Washington Post (Twitter link), Harden now has 13 playoff games shooting 20% or worse on 10-plus shot attempts, which is the most in NBA history since the league implemented the three-pointer in 1979/80. Westbrook is third on the list with nine.
The Clippers now trail the series 3-2 and are facing a potential elimination game in Dallas on Friday.
Here’s more on the Clippers:
- Prior to Wednesday’s Game 5, head coach Tyronn Lue said the Clippers were still uncertain about when Kawhi Leonard might be able to return to action, tweets Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints. “We’re not sure when he’s coming back,” Lue said. “It’s a day-to-day thing. When he’s feeling good and medical says he’s cleared to go, then that’s when we’ll go. Right now, we’re just focused on tonight.” Leonard, who has been battling right knee inflammation and clearly wasn’t 100% in his two postseason appearances, appears unlikely to be ready for Game 6, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter video link via FanDuelTV’s Run It Back show).
- Despite the disappointing effort in Game 5, Lue noted the Clips have a recent history of winning on the Mavs’ home floor in the playoffs, including Game 4, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “We’ve shown that past two playoff series,” Lue said of being able to win in Dallas. “We were down 3-2 [in 2021]. We didn’t play our best game and we understand that. I think we all understand that collectively. So we’ll be better for Game 6.”
- While the Clippers are certainly capable of winning two straight games to advance to the second round, the Mavericks have played with much more urgency to this point in the series and look hungry to advance, according to Mirjam Swanson of The Southern California News Group. That doesn’t bode well for L.A.’s chances in Game 6 in Dallas, says Swanson.
- He hasn’t posted impressive numbers in the series, but Lue said wing Amir Coffey has gained confidence starting in place of Leonard, per Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. “He’s always been able to attack in transition. He can make a shot,” Lue said. “… He can defend. He can defend multiple positions. So, just his confidence, I think his growth, understanding the NBA game, understanding what we need from him on a nightly basis, and he’s grown, and he’s gotten better and better. So, it’s just good to see that he could finally be in the rotation and get consistent minutes too.”
Pacific Notes: M. Brown, Moody, Westbrook, Durant
While there has been some chatter about Mike Brown‘s contract situation since the Kings‘ season ended last week, Brown denied on Wednesday that the issue is “top of mind” as he enters the summer, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee.
“It’s not, really, at the end of the day,” Brown said. “I have one year left on my deal. Everybody knows that, but I’m excited about being here. I’m excited about our future, so I’m going to go into this summer trying to figure out how we can be better next year.”
Brown technically has two years left on his contract, but the 2025/26 season is a mutual option, meaning both he and the Kings would have to opt in. Since ’24/25 is his last guaranteed season, the two sides may feel compelled to try to get a new deal done sooner rather than later. Brown is reportedly expected to seek a deal that’s in line with the new market for head coaches after Steve Kerr, Gregg Popovich, and Monty Williams signed lucrative contracts in the past year.
“Look at a two-year horizon here, which is when Coach Brown and his staff came in, and (there are) a lot of positives,” general manager Monte McNair said on Wednesday. “We’re certainly disappointed this year, and Mike and I will sit down and try to figure out how we get back to where we want to get to. And, yeah, we’ll have all those conversations here starting soon.”
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Within a discussion about a few Warriors-related subjects, Anthony Slater of The Athletic notes that it will be an interesting offseason for Moses Moody. The former 14th overall pick will be extension-eligible beginning in July and should be in line for a larger role next season, especially if Klay Thompson leaves in free agency or if Golden State trades Andrew Wiggins. “I think it’s really important coming into year four for (Moody) that there is some reasonable playing time available for him where he can impact our team and be out there and continue to improve,” general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said this week.
- The Clippers have been better both offensively and defensively when Russell Westbrook is on the court during the first two games of their series against Dallas, according to Law Murray of The Athletic, who suggests that Westbrook’s contributions are critical to counter the Mavericks’ small lineups. Westbrook can become a free agent this offseason if he turns down a $4MM player option for 2024/25.
- In a feature for ESPN.com, Baxter Holmes explores Kevin Durant‘s return from a 2019 Achilles tear, an injury that the Suns‘ star forward thought might end his run as an All-NBA-level player. As Holmes writes, Durant’s intense love of the game helped fuel his recovery process and allowed him to eventually regain his All-NBA form.
Wolves’ Naz Reid Named Sixth Man Of The Year
Timberwolves big man Naz Reid has been named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year for the 2023/24 season, the league announced on Wednesday evening (via Twitter).
A former undrafted free agent, Reid averaged 13.5 PPG, 5.2 RPG and 0.9 BPG on .477/.414/.736 shooting in 81 games this season (24.2 MPG).
Reid is the first player in Timberwolves franchise history to win the Sixth Man award, per a team press release.
The 24-year-old was a major reason why Minnesota didn’t skip a beat when Karl-Anthony Towns was sidelined with a knee injury late in the season. The Wolves went 14-6 without Towns and 56-26 overall, good for the No. 3 seed in the West.
The voting was remarkably close (Twitter link via the NBA). In fact, it was the smallest margin between first- and second-place finishers since the current voting format was implemented 21 years ago, according to the league (via Twitter).
Reid finished with 45 first-place votes, 39 second-place votes and 10 third-place votes for a total of 352 points. Runner-up Malik Monk had the exact same number of second- and third-place votes, but finished with two fewer first-place votes for 342 total points.
Kings guard Monk appeared in 72 games this season for Sacramento, all off the bench. He averaged 15.4 PPG, 2.9 RPG and 5.1 APG on .443/.350/.829 shooting in 26.0 MPG.
Bucks big man Bobby Portis, who finished third in Sixth Man voting last season, finished a distant third again in ’23/24, receiving 81 total points. He averaged 13.8 PPG and 7.4 RPG on .508/.407/.790 shooting without missing a game this season for Milwaukee (24.5 MPG).
Clippers wing Norman Powell (65 points) and Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic (40 points) finished fourth and fifth in voting, respectively. No other player received more than three points.
Powell actually received the most third-place votes of any player, but fewer first- and second-place votes than Portis, which is why he finished behind Milwaukee’s forward/center.
Jose Alvarado, Russell Westbrook, T.J. McConnell, Jonathan Isaac, Jaime Jaquez, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Bojan Bogdanovic all received at least one vote.
Clippers Notes: Westbrook, Leonard, Harden, Hyland
The Clippers have gone 7-2 in games in which Russell Westbrook has shouldered a full workload since returning from hand surgery on March 25, helping Los Angeles regain some of the form that earned the team the top spot in the West earlier this season, ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk writes. Westbrook became the Clippers’ sixth man after they traded for James Harden, which helped propel the team to its best regular season in the Kawhi Leonard/Paul George era.
“I know who I am and what I’m able to bring to the game,” Westbrook said. “Nobody’s able to do what I can do since I got in this league. And the reason why I’m in the position I’m in is because nobody ever knew I could do [it on a] night-in and night-out basis.”
Westbrook, who has made 116 career playoff starts, will come off the bench for the first time in the postseason in the Clips’ first-round series against the Mavericks. When it comes to establishing identity and making four high-profile stars work together, George and coach Tyronn Lue pointed to Westbrook’s contributions, according to Youngmisuk.
“We owed it to him to make it work,” George said. “All of us collectively, we know what sacrifice looks like now.”
It was Westbrook who came to Lue with the idea of coming off the bench when the Clippers lost six straight after acquiring Harden. Although he’s averaging a career-low of 11.2 points per game, he’s playing better defense and said he’s in a better place mentally, according to Youngmisuk, who says Westbrook is happy in Los Angeles and is ready for whatever the future brings, whether that’s with the Clippers or not.
“If I’m here, if I’m there, I’ll do whatever the team is asking me to do,” Westbrook said. “I think there’s a narrative that people have made up that I have been fighting against …. But I’m always a team-first guy. I know how good I still am. So it doesn’t matter — starting or coming off the bench — because I know and understand what I bring to the game.”
We have more from the Clippers:
- Leonard has missed the past seven games with left knee soreness and inflammation. The Orange County Register’s Mirjam Swanson argues the team is being too vague when it comes to disclosing timelines for his injuries. “With Kawhi, he’s dealing with inflammation. It’s no secret he’s had a couple surgeries to that knee. It’s not uncommon over the course of it where you deal with inflammation. With inflammation, it limits your ability to make some natural basketball moves, so he’s working his tail off, the staff is working their tail off to try to help with the inflammation,” president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said Friday of Leonard (Twitter link via Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints).
- Harden missed the past two games with a foot issue, but he started on Friday against the Jazz, though he only played nine minutes. According to Youngmisuk (Twitter link), Lue isn’t sure whether Harden’s foot injury is something that will need to be managed in the playoffs.
- Bones Hyland saw his role reduced after Harden was acquired this year and he was briefly sent home alongside P.J. Tucker in February as both appeared disgruntled with their playing time, Janis Carr of The Orange County Register writes. Hyland has taken on a bigger role since the beginning of March and has scored 57 points over his past two games. He’s is staying ready for when the team needs him, according to Carr, and is hoping to be a part of the playoff rotation. “He’s done a great job of just sticking with it, continuing to keep working, putting the work in every single day,” Lue said. “And when his name has been called, he’s been good for us. He loves to compete, he loves to play, but right now with the circumstances the way they are, he’s done a good job of just handling the whole situation.“
Pacific Notes: O’Neale, Allen, Hyland, Leonard, Monk, Sabonis
Suns coach Frank Vogel switched up his rotation in the team’s 124-108 win over the Clippers on Wednesday, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic reports. Royce O’Neale was inserted into the lineup in place of Grayson Allen, while Thaddeus Young replaced Drew Eubanks as the backup center.
However, the Suns could go right back to Allen as the starter against Sacramento on Friday. “It’s just something we’ve been talking about,” Vogel said. “If we get into a playoff matchup where we have a bigger opponent, then we feel like (O’Neale’s) size in the starting lineup is something that would make sense. We didn’t want to go to that with Grayson coming off the bench for the first time having never done it. We used this one game to let Grayson just feel the rhythm of coming off the bench, if it’s needed in the playoffs.”
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Ivica Zubac and Norman Powell sat out the second game of a back-to-back on Wednesday. Bones Hyland carried the Clippers‘ offense in their absence, pumping in a career-high 37 points, Janis Carr of the Orange County Register notes. Leonard sat out his sixth consecutive game because of inflammation in his right knee. He might not return until the postseason but coach Tyronn Lue believes his superstar forward will be ready to go by that point.
- Kings guard Malik Monk was the solid frontrunner for the Sixth Man of the Year award until he suffered a sprained MCL in his right knee late last month. Center Domantas Sabonis said Monk still deserves the honor. “Monk has to win it,” Sabonis told HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto. “If he doesn’t win it, it’s rigged. He definitely brings energy and light. If we’re down, he’s always up and in a good mood off the court, too, so that really helps during a long season with ups and downs.” Coach Mike Brown concurs. “It should not even be a debate on Sixth Man of the Year with Malik’s body of work and us fighting for a playoff spot,” Brown said. “He should be the hands-down winner.”
- Monk will be an unrestricted free agent after the season. Sacramento has Early Bird rights on Monk and can sign him up to $78MM over four years. “I’d love to play here again, for sure. I’ve been here for two years and made friends with everyone, including the training staff and front office,” Monk told Scotto. Sabonis said the organization can’t afford to lose him: “We’ve got to keep him. He’s a big piece for us moving forward.”
- Sabonis saw his 61-game double-double streak end on Tuesday, Cliff Brunt of The Associated Press writes. He had eight points and 13 rebounds against Oklahoma City. It’s the seventh-longest streak in league history and the longest since the NBA and ABA merged prior to the 1976/77 season.
Los Angeles Notes: James, Davis, Lue, Westbrook
Perhaps it’s been somewhat overlooked but the Lakers’ LeBron James is shooting better from the perimeter than he ever has, ESPN’s Chris Herring notes.
A career 34.8% shooter from deep, James has knocked down a career-best 41.3% from 3-point range this season. His overall field goal percentage of 53.6% is his best since the 2017/18 campaign. Herring breaks down how James’ form has improved, noting that the longtime star attributes the uptick to better health.
“I’ve been able to be on the floor a lot more during non-game days,” James said. “My foot has felt a lot better. I didn’t have much time to really rep a lot last year because I couldn’t be on the floor running around or put much pounding on the floor with my foot.”
We have more on the Los Angeles teams:
- The Lakers are listing Anthony Davis and James as questionable heading into their showdown with the Warriors tonight, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin tweets. Davis has a left eye injury, while James is battling flu-like symptoms.
- Tyronn Lue says he has no plans to rest players for the remainder of the regular season unless the Clippers’ seeding is already decided. “We’re still fighting for that four seed, so (not) until we are able to clinch that, or we understand that we have a chance to clinch it or we don’t have a chance to clinch it,” he told Janis Carr of the Orange County Register. “Right now, our focus is on just playing better basketball, continuing to keep getting better and ending up the best we can as far as seeding.”
- Russell Westbrook has revamped his mentality. A three-time scoring champion, Westbrook has focused on the other end of the floor for the Clippers this season, according to Carr. “Well, all year long, honestly, I’ve been depending on my defense and holding people and stopping people when time is needed,” Westbrook said. Westbrook has been a bargain for the Clippers this season and holds a $4MM option on his contract for next season.