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Western Notes: Thunder, Pelicans, Loucks, Christie, Kings

April 25th, 2024 at 12:41pm CST by Rory Maher

The Thunder demolished the Pelicans by 32 points on Wednesday, led by 80 combined points from Rookie of the Year finalist Chet Holmgren (26), MVP finalist Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (33) and rising second-year forward Jalen Williams (21), per Andrew Lopez of ESPN. The trio was extremely efficient, going 32-of-49 from the field (.653%).

After Pels center Jonas Valanciunas opened by scoring the first 11 points for New Orleans, Oklahoma City countered by giving Holmgren looks from the perimeter, Lopez writes. The 2022 No. 2 overall pick responded with 15 points in the opening frame en route to a double-digit lead.

“He was great to start,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of Holmgren. “He was aggressive, he was assertive, made quick decisions and obviously was a big reason why we got out to that lead. He just played to his strengths and didn’t try to stray from them. We all know when he does that, he’s really good.”

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

  • Perhaps more concerning than the loss itself was the way the Pelicans lost. As William Guillory of The Athletic details, New Orleans came away from Game 1’s two-point loss somewhat encouraged and responded with an absolute dud of a performance in Game 2. The Pelicans allowed OKC to score 124 points on a shooting line of .590/.483/.900. They had 18 turnovers, including eight offensive fouls. And they only finished with 92 points for the second straight game. Yes, the Pelicans are playing without Zion Williamson, but an ugly early exit could lead to major changes in the offseason, Guillory writes.
  • Kings head coach Mike Brown told reporters, including Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 KTXL (Twitter link), that assistant coach Luke Loucks will move to a front-of-bench role after Jordi Fernandez‘s departure to Brooklyn. Brown added that assistant Doug Christie will likely coach Sacramento’s Summer League team, though that isn’t set in stone.
  • After winning a tiebreaker with Golden State, there’s now a 92.9% chance the Kings will end up with the No. 13 overall pick in June’s draft. GM Monte McNair said Sacramento is “excited” about the prospects who could be available at that spot, but the team will explore its options with the lottery pick, including potentially trading it, tweets James Ham of ESPN 1320 and TheKingsBeat.com.
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And-Ones: Postseason Awards, Fernandez, SLC Summer League, Players’ Poll

April 22nd, 2024 at 10:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NBA revealed the finalists for seven postseason awards on Sunday. The league will begin announcing the winners on Tuesday, the NBA’s communications department tweets.

The Most Improved Player award will be announced on Tuesday. Tyrese Maxey, Alperen Sengun and Coby White are the finalists. The Sixth Man of the Year award winner will be revealed on Wednesday, followed by the Clutch Player of the Year (Thursday) and Coach of the Year (Sunday).

We have more from around the basketball world:

  • The Nets’ hiring of Jordi Fernandez as their head coach won’t affect his status with Team Canada. Fernandez will coach their national team at the Paris Olympics, Canada Basketball tweets.
  • The Salt Lake City Summer League will take place July 8-10 at the Jazz’s Delta Center, according to a press release. The Jazz, Grizzlies, Thunder and Sixers will once again compete in the round-robin summer showcase, which precedes the Las Vegas Summer League.
  • The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Josh Robbins compiled poll results from 142 NBA players on a variety of topics. Nikola Jokic topped Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for MVP, while Michael Jordan edged out LeBron James for Greatest Player of All Time. A majority of the players chose James Johnson as the player they’d least like to fight.
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Doncic, Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokic Named MVP Finalists

April 21st, 2024 at 6:03pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nuggets center Nikola Jokic were revealed on Sunday as the finalists for the Most Valuable Player award, according to the NBA (Twitter link).

Doncic led the league in scoring (33.9 points per game) and finished second in assists (9.8) while also grabbing 9.2 rebounds per contest. Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder to the top seed in the Western Conference by averaging 30.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 2.0 steals per contest. Jokic, who is widely considered the favorite to win his third MVP trophy, averaged 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 9.0 assists per night.

The NBA also announced the finalists for six other postseason awards. Here are the finalists for all of those awards:

Most Valuable Player

Sixth Man

Defensive Player of the Year

Most Improved Player

Note: Sengun appeared in just 63 games but was eligible for award consideration based on the season-ending injury exception described in our glossary entry on the 65-game rule.

Coach of the Year

  • Mark Daigneault, Thunder
  • Chris Finch, Timberwolves
  • Jamahl Mosley, Magic

Rookie of the Year

Clutch Player of the Year

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And-Ones: Kawhi, Team USA, FAs, Musa, Coaches, More

April 16th, 2024 at 8:20am CST by Luke Adams

With 11 of 12 roster spots reportedly locked in for USA Basketball’s 2024 Olympic roster, the program could go in a number of different directions with the 12th and final slot. The list of players in contention for that final roster spot includes plenty of big names, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports that Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard is currently viewed as the leading candidate.

Leonard’s teammate Paul George, Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, Magic forward Paolo Banchero, and Nets forward Mikal Bridges are also in the mix, sources tell Charania.

Leonard hasn’t represented Team USA at the Olympics or a World Cup before, but has support from some of the stars on the roster, including Kevin Durant and LeBron James, says Charania. George won gold with Team USA in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, while Brunson, Banchero, and Bridges competed in the 2023 World Cup.

It’s possible that more than one player in that final group of candidates could ultimately make the cut if any of the top 11 have to drop out due to an injury or for personal reasons. Of course, Leonard is currently dealing with a nagging knee issue of his own, though there’s no indication at this point it would prevent him from playing in July.

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

  • Danny Leroux of The Athletic takes a look at the NBA’s 2024 free agent class, evaluating what sort of stars, starters, and rotation players will be available. As Leroux observes, a handful of stars are on track for potential free agency, but few – if any – are good bets to change teams. That group includes LeBron James, Paul George, James Harden, Pascal Siakam, and Tyrese Maxey.
  • In an interview with Dean Sinovcic of Nacional.hr, former first-round pick Dzanan Musa, who spent two seasons in Brooklyn from 2018-20, didn’t rule out the possibility of returning to the NBA as early as this offseason, but said he’s focused for now on trying to win Liga ACB and EuroLeague titles with Real Madrid (hat tip to Sportando).
  • Sam Amick of The Athletic considers what’s at stake for each NBA head coach in the postseason, suggesting that the pressure will be on Joe Mazzulla (Celtics) to at least reach the NBA Finals. Jason Kidd (Mavericks), J.B. Bickerstaff (Cavaliers), and Darvin Ham (Lakers) are among the others who will be motivated to avoid early exits, Amick adds.
  • In a conversation about end-of-season awards, a panel of five ESPN experts weren’t in agreement on who should win Most Improved Player or Sixth Man of the Year. Three different players – Malik Monk, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Naz Reid – earned votes from the five-man panel for Sixth Man honors.
  • Which NBA players were the most underpaid this season? Despite being on a maximum-salary contract, Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tops the list from Frank Urbina of HoopsHype.
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Northwest Notes: Reid, Wolves, Murray, SGA, Williams

April 9th, 2024 at 9:02am CST by Luke Adams

Naz Reid is making a strong late-season push for the Sixth Man of the Year award, having averaged 19.4 points and 7.1 rebounds on .488/.448/.743 shooting in his past 14 games as he fills in for injured Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns. After racking up 31 points and 11 rebounds in a win over the Lakers on Sunday, Reid admitted that winning that award is a personal goal, per Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.

“That’s something that I want. I’m hungry for it,” Reid said. “I want that. I think the impact, the record has shown it, our standing has shown it. I want it bad. I’m hungry for it.”

Reid has come off the bench in 65 of his 77 appearances this season — all 12 of those starts have come within the last month, which is the primary reason for the bump in his production. Still, as Hine points out, it’s the mark of an effective sixth man to be able to sub in for an injured starter without missing a beat.

“I think it’s obvious that Naz Reid is the Sixth Man of the Year,” teammate Anthony Edwards said. “We’re the No. 1 team in the West. He’s had multiple 30-point games. He’s the reason we’re winning. He’s a big reason why. KAT went down a little minute ago and we’ve still been able to win, it’s because of Naz.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

  • Securing the No. 1 seed in the West would be the “cherry on top” of a terrific regular season for the Timberwolves and would give the team a “huge advantage” heading into the playoffs, according to head coach Chris Finch (Twitter video link via Mark Medina of Sportskeeda). However, no matter where the Wolves end up in the standings, Finch expects a difficult path in the postseason. “It might be the hardest playoffs ever,” Finch said, “so any advantage you can get is going to be a big one.”
  • Nuggets guard Jamal Murray was on a minutes restriction on Sunday in his first game back from various leg injuries and that restriction may continue for the rest of the regular season, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (subscription required). Murray played just 21 minutes on Sunday, though head coach Michael Malone confirmed his limit isn’t actually that low — the star guard wasn’t needed in the fourth quarter since Denver had the game well in hand.
  • In an entertaining feature story for ESPN.com, Ramona Shelburne explores Shai Gilgeous-Alexander‘s evolution into a legitimate MVP candidate. The star guard doesn’t show up on the Thunder‘s injury report for Tuesday’s game vs. the Kings, notes Clemente Almanza of Thunder Wire, so it appears he’ll return after missing four games due to a quad injury. Jalen Williams (ankle), who has also been out for the past four games, is listed as questionable.
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Thunder Notes: SGA, J-Dub, Dort, Dieng, Daigneault

April 5th, 2024 at 5:46pm CST by Rory Maher

Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will miss his third straight game on Friday in Indiana due to a right quad contusion, tweets Rylan Stiles of Inside The Thunder.

Head coach Mark Daigneault said the MVP candidate was sent back to Oklahoma City on Thursday and he’ll also miss Sunday’s game in Charlotte, which is the finale of a four-game road trip, per Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman (Twitter link).

“We need to make sure he doesn’t decondition during this time and gym access on the road is much more difficult to come by,” Daigneault said.

Second-year guard/forward Jalen Williams will also miss his third straight contest on Friday due to a left ankle sprain. He was initially listed as doubtful.

Here’s more on the Thunder:

  • In an interesting story for The Athletic, Fred Katz examines Luguentz Dort‘s defensive impact for OKC, describing how the 24-year-old has added layers of complexity to the way he approaches many aspects of the less glamorous end of the court, including certain “quirks” he uses to throw star players off-balance. According to Katz, Dort has spent more time guarding the opposing teams’ highest-usage player than anyone in the NBA. “We can shift him anywhere,” Daigneault told The Athletic. “He can guard any player. There’s no one he can’t guard.”
  • He hasn’t played much at the NBA level in 2023/24, averaging just 11.0 MPG in 31 appearances, but second-year forward Ousmane Dieng has been more assertive this season with the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s NBAGL affiliate, Stiles writes for Inside The Thunder. Dieng, the No. 11 pick of the 2022 draft, hit a game-winner in the first round of the G League playoffs, eliminating the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s affiliate.
  • Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle expects Daigneault to be one of the frontrunners for the Coach of the Year award in ’23/24, tweets Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. “They’ve drafted with the idea that positionless basketball is the future and there’s a lot of evidence that is the case,” Carlisle said. The second-youngest team in the NBA, the Thunder won 40 games last season and already have 54 in ’23/24 with six games remaining in the regular season.
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And-Ones: West, MVP Race, All-NBA, Comanche

April 3rd, 2024 at 2:51pm CST by Luke Adams

NBA legend Jerry West is being inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame for a third time, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Previously enshrined as a player (1979) and as a member of the 1960 U.S. Olympic team (2010), the 85-year-old has now been elected as a Hall of Fame contributor.

The latest induction into the Hall of Fame recognizes West’s work as a team executive, including general manager stints with the Lakers and Grizzlies, as well as time spent as a consultant for the Warriors and Clippers. West won eight championships in those roles, per ESPN, and won Executive of the Year awards in 1995 and 2004.

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

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NBA Announces Finalists For Sportsmanship, Teammate Of The Year Awards

April 2nd, 2024 at 12:41pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA announced the 2023/24 finalists for a pair of awards on Tuesday, naming the six players who are eligible to win the Sportsmanship Award for this season, as well as the 12 players who are in the running for Teammate of the Year honors.

The Sportsmanship Award honors the player who “best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court,” per the NBA. Each of the league’s 30 teams nominated one of its players for the award, then a panel of league executives narrows that group to six finalists (one from each division) and current players voted for the winner.

The trophy for the Sportsmanship Award is named after Joe Dumars, the Hall-of-Fame guard who won the inaugural award back in ’95/96. This season’s finalists are as follows (via Twitter):

None of this year’s finalists for the Sportsmanship Award have earned the honor in the past, so the 2023/24 winner will be a first-timer. Mike Conley won the award last year for a record fourth time.

Meanwhile, the NBA also announced its finalists for the Teammate of the Year award for 2023/24. According to the league, the player selected for the honor is “deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team.”

The voting process is similar to the Sportsmanship Award — a panel of league executives selects 12 finalists (six from each conference) for the award, then current players vote on the winner.

Like Conley with the Sportsmanship Award, last season’s Teammate of the Year – Jrue Holiday – has the record for most times winning the award (three), but isn’t among the finalists for 2023/24. Of this season’s 12 finalists, the only one to take home the award in the past is Conley, who claimed it in 2019.

The Teammate of the Year finalists finalists are as follows (via Twitter):

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Northwest Notes: Murray, SGA, Sharpe, Wolves, Jazz

March 30th, 2024 at 4:08pm CST by Luke Adams

Jamal Murray continues to deal with a sprained left ankle and swollen right knee, having missed a fourth consecutive game on Friday vs. Minnesota. According to a report from ESPN, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone told reporters before Friday’s game that Murray is improving, but said he’s “not ready to go out there and compete at the level that we need him to” and hinted that the star guard may remain out for Sunday’s game vs. Cleveland.

Still, Malone isn’t worried at this point that Murray’s health issues will extend into the postseason, adding, “I do think he will be back on the court before the playoffs start.”

It should be an eventful spring and summer for Murray, assuming he gets – and stays – healthy. After seeking a second straight NBA championship with the Nuggets, the 27-year-old hopes to suit up for the Canadian national team at the Olympics in Paris, he confirmed to Eurohoops.

“I’m excited to be there,” he said. “We have a great squad, (it) was great to see them win a medal (at the 2023 World Cup). Hopefully, we can go our way and win gold this summer.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

  • Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed a second consecutive game on Friday vs. Phoenix due to his right quad contusion. Head coach Mark Daigneault said that Gilgeous-Alexander will continue to be considered day-to-day, so there’s no indication at this point that the injury will result in an extended absence (Twitter link via Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman).
  • Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe, who is recovering from core muscle surgery, is with the team on its current seven-game road trip and will continue to be evaluated after participating in non-contact and conditioning drills in the G League earlier this week, per the club (Twitter link). Sharpe hasn’t played since January 11, but there’s still hope that he’ll return in the season’s final two weeks.
  • Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch said on Friday that he has great relationships with Glen Taylor, Marc Lore, and Alex Rodriguez, so he won’t be taking sides in the franchise’s ownership struggle and doesn’t expect the situation to affect his team at “troop level,” tweets Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. “If there was ever a definition of ‘above your pay grade,’ this is it,” Finch added.
  • After expressing some concern in mid-February about the frustration level in the Jazz‘s locker room, Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune says the locker room vibes in Utah are “way better” now. However, that comes with an important caveat — according to Larsen, since the Jazz have fallen out of the postseason race, they’re no longer as stressed about winning games, as “the sting of losing is absolutely gone.”
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Northwest Notes: SGA, Wiggins, Jazz, Murray

March 27th, 2024 at 9:10pm CST by Rory Maher

Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — one of leading MVP candidates in 2023/24 — missed his second game of the season on Wednesday against Houston due to a right quad contusion, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

According to MacMahon, Gilgeous-Alexander has been been dealing with the injury for a while — he was kneed in the quad a week ago.

It’s a big game for both teams, but particularly the Rockets, who are trying to win their 10th straight game and stay on the heels of the Warriors for the final spot in the West’s play-in tournament. Oklahoma City, on the other hand, is trying to secure the No. 1 seed — the Thunder currently trail the Nuggets by a half-game.

Here’s more from the Northwest:

  • Third-year wing Aaron Wiggins has been a rotation regular for the Thunder for much of ’23/24, but he was a healthy scratch in Wednesday’s victory in New Orleans. When asked what led to the decision, head coach Mark Daigneault, said it wasn’t in his game plan. “He was live,” Daigneault said, per Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman (Twitter link). “I just thought with the start we got off to, with the groups that were out there, I just kind of rolled with them. And it kind of drifted him out of rotation and it wasn’t necessarily pre-planned. In fact, I was planning on using him but we were in such a good rhythm.” OKC holds a $1,988,598 team option on Wiggins for ’24/25.
  • The postseason is now out of reach amid a slide down the standings since the All-Star break, but the Jazz are still trying to find ways to motivate themselves as the season winds down, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic. “We might not make a deep run … this year, but everybody has something to play for,” Forward Lauri Markkanen said. “Individually, you’ve got to find it and lean into it. We have to set the standard on how we want to play. We have to come out and play hard and play together, and we have to play with pride.  So I think there is always something that you can do to improve, and we have to do a lot of that as a team.”
  • Speaking of the Jazz, a big part of their recent struggles has been an inept defense, which now ranks dead last in the NBA. As Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune writes (subscription required), Utah is the worst defensive team in the league by a significant margin over the past 10 games. While the roster may not be built to be stout defensively, Larsen argues the Jazz should at least be “acceptable” on that end, and they haven’t been, especially lately.
  • Nuggets guard Jamal Murray has missed the past two games with an ankle injury, and he missed his third straight contest on Wednesday vs. Phoenix. However, the injury designation changed — according to Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports (Twitter link), Murray is out with right knee inflammation. The 27-year-old “looked pretty good” as he went through a “lengthy shooting routine” before the game, Wind tweets. That suggests Murray’s injuries aren’t particularly serious, which is certainly good news for Denver.
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