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NBA Announces Slam Dunk, Three-Point, Skills Challenge Contestants

February 8th, 2022 at 6:56pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The NBA has announced a full list of the participants for its three-point, slam dunk and skills challenge competitions ahead of the upcoming 2022 All-Star Weekend in Cleveland.

Per the NBA (Twitter link), the following players will partake in the Mountain Dew Three-Point Contest, which appears to have outpaced the dunk contest as the premiere event for established stars at All-Star Weekend. Four 2022 All-Stars will compete:

According to the league (via Twitter), these are the contestants in the AT&T Slam Dunk Contest:

Below are the NBA’s announced players for the newly revamped Taco Bell Skills Challenge (Twitter link). This year, the Skills Challenge will be divvied up into three teams: Antetokounmpo brothers (“Antetokounmpos”), Cavaliers players (“Cavs”), and rookies (“Rooks”).

These three events will take place on All-Star Saturday on February 19.

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Southeast Notes: Dinwiddie, Hornets, Oladipo, Young

February 1st, 2022 at 1:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Within a larger story on the Clippers this week, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer suggested that the Wizards want to trade Spencer Dinwiddie in part because “his teammates don’t want him there.” It’s an eyebrow-raising claim that’s presented as an aside and isn’t attributed to sources, so it’s unclear how seriously we should take it.

There have perhaps been some recent hints that Dinwiddie’s teammates in D.C. haven’t fully embraced him. As we relayed over the weekend, the veteran point guard stated after Saturday’s game that his attempt to be a vocal leader in the locker room earlier in the season “wasn’t necessarily welcomed.”

Asked on Monday about those comments, Wizards head coach Wes Unseld Jr. said he was unsure whether they were directed at the coaching staff or Dinwiddie’s teammates, per Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. Unseld, who said he thinks everyone in the locker room gets along, said that even if the staff doesn’t implement a player’s suggestions, that doesn’t mean those suggestions were “unwelcomed.”

“I think I’ve been open from Day 1 to suggestions from our guys, vets that have been around,” Unseld said. “I’m not sure who [Dinwiddie’s comments were] pointed to. I don’t know if that was directed at staff or teammates, or I’m not sure who that was pointed to, but I think it’s great. I think the more communication we can have and they can have amongst themselves [the better].”

As we keep an eye on the Dinwiddie situation, here’s more from around the Southeast:

  • In a column for The Charlotte Observer, Rod Boone argues that the Hornets must make a move at the trade deadline to upgrade their center position. While Boone isn’t advocating for selling the farm, he believes the team would squander a golden opportunity for “significant growth” this season if it stands pat.
  • As Victor Oladipo inches closer to a return from last year’s quad tendon surgery, his Heat teammates are encouraged by how he has looked in practices, says Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. “I’ve seen enough to know he’s definitely better than he was last year,” Udonis Haslem said last week. “I haven’t seen any limping. I haven’t seen a lack of confidence. I haven’t seen everything so I can’t make a fair assessment. He looks pretty [good] about where he’s headed.”
  • Hawks guard Trae Young, dealing with a right shoulder contusion, sat out Monday’s game vs. Toronto, but the team is hopeful he won’t miss much – if any – more time. “He tried to go out and warm up and wasn’t feeling good, so we’ll give him these next two days to recover,” head coach Nate McMillan said (Twitter link via Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution).
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Embiid, DeRozan Among All-Star Starters From Eastern Conference

January 27th, 2022 at 6:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Sixers center Joel Embiid, Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Nets forward Kevin Durant have been named All-Star starters from the Eastern Conference frontcourt pool.

DeMar DeRozan (Bulls) and Trae Young (Hawks) are the conference’s guards who will join them as starters, NBA Communications tweets.

Durant will be a team captain because he is the All-Star starter from the East with the most fan votes in the East. However, he’s currently sidelined by a knee injury and isn’t expected to play in next month’s All-Star Game at Cleveland.

DeRozan was the leader among Eastern Conference guards in the fan voting. The fan vote counted for 50% in the selection process, with player voting accounting for 25% and the media getting a 25% say.

It will be DeRozan’s third All-Star start and fifth All-Star game. In his first year with the Bulls, DeRozan is averaging 26.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG and 4.8 APG. All of the starters from the East are among the NBA’s top six scorers, led by Durant (29.3 PPG) and Embiid (29.0 PPG).

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Nikola Jokic, Trae Young Named Players Of The Week

January 24th, 2022 at 2:39pm CST by Luke Adams

Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has been named the Western Conference’s Player of the Week, while Hawks guard Trae Young has earned the honor in the Eastern Conference, the league announced today (via Twitter).

It’s the first time this season that Jokic has won the award, which is a little surprising, given his MVP-caliber numbers. During the week of January 17-23, the big man averaged a triple-double in three games, putting up 36.3 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 10.0 APG, and 2.3 SPG on .650/.400/.862 shooting in 39.2 MPG. The Nuggets went 2-1 in those games, with a loss to Memphis on Friday.

Young, meanwhile, led the Hawks to a 4-0 week, pulling the team within 1.5 games of a play-in spot in the East. The 23-year-old averaged 31.3 PPG, 9.0 APG, and 4.0 RPG with a .476 3PT% in 36.6 MPG, earning Player of the Week honors for a second time this season. He poured in eight 3-pointers in Atlanta’s win over Charlotte on Sunday.

Jokic won the West’s Player of the Week award over fellow nominees Luka Doncic, Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Dejounte Murray, and Jusuf Nurkic. The other nominees in the East were Joel Embiid, Jimmy Butler, Miles Bridges, Darius Garland, and Khris Middleton (Twitter link).

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And-Ones: Exum, Thomas, Doncic, Tatum, Yabusele

January 10th, 2022 at 8:11pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Former NBA guard Dante Exum plans to return to the NBA when his three-month contract with Barcelona expires, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Exum is averaging just 4.4 PPG in the EuroLeague after signing with the Spanish team early last month.

Exum was waived by the Rockets during training camp. He signed a three-year deal with Houston in September but the contract was non-guaranteed and Houston had 15 other players with guaranteed deals.

We have more from around the basketball world:

  • Khyri Thomas has officially signed with Maccabi Tel Aviv, according to a team press release. A report surfaced over the weekend that Maccabi was interested in the former NBA guard. Thomas, a 2018 second-round pick, played in Spain last month before suffering an injury. He saw action in five games with Houston last season and came off the bench in 34 games for Detroit during the previous two seasons.
  • Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum remain the two players under 25 years old that NBA talent evaluators would want to build their teams around, according to an annual poll conducted by Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype. Ja Morant, LaMelo Ball and Trae Young round out the top five.
  • Guerschon Yabusele has agreed to a contract extension with Real Madrid, according to a team press release. The three-year extension runs through June 2025. Yabusele, a first-round pick by the Celtics in 2016, last appeared in the NBA during the 2018/19 season when he saw action in 41 games for Boston.
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Deandre Ayton Enters Protocols; Trae Young Cleared

December 27th, 2021 at 5:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Suns center Deandre Ayton has entered the league’s health and safety protocols, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Assuming Ayton has been vaccinated, he will out at least six days or until he returns two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart. He joins teammates Jae Crowder and Elfrid Payton in protocols as well as head coach Monty Williams. Ayton is averaging 17.0 PPG and 11.1 RPG.

On the flip side, Hawks star guard Trae Young has cleared the protocols and will play against Chicago on Monday, Wojnarowski reports in a separate tweet. Atlanta has a 1-2 record since Young entered protocols. He produced a second negative test to exit the protocols, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic tweets.

Young won’t have many of his usual teammates in uniform with him. Atlanta still has 10 other players in the protocols.

In Houston, Rockets players Jae’Sean Tate and Kenyon Martin Jr. have entered protocols, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. That increases the number of Rockets players in protocols to four.

The Wizards, who already had a handful of players in protocols, added Aaron Holiday to the list, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington tweets.

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Giannis Antetokounmpo Exits Protocols, Expected To Play Saturday

December 25th, 2021 at 8:53am CST by Luke Adams

DECEMBER 25, 8:53am: Antetokounmpo is expected to return to action for the Bucks on Saturday after missing the team’s last five games, Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter).

DECEMBER 24, 12:17pm: Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has exited the NBA’s health and safety protocols, sources tell ESPN’s Zach Lowe and Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

According to Lowe and Wojnarowski, Antetokounmpo is expected to get on the court today and make a decision tomorrow about whether he’ll be able to suit up for the Bucks in their Christmas Day game vs. Boston. The two-time MVP will have to pass cardiac tests before he’s cleared to return following his stint in the health and safety protocols.

Although Giannis still has a chance to play on Saturday, it appears the same can’t be said for Hawks star Trae Young. League sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) that Young isn’t expected to be cleared in time to be activated for Atlanta’s Christmas Day contest in New York.

It’s an unfortunate turn of events, given the burgeoning rivalry that Young and the Hawks have established with the Knicks and the fans in New York. However, it doesn’t come as a surprise — Young just entered the COVID-19 protocols five days ago, so the odds of him testing out this quickly were low unless his initial test was a false positive.

In addition to not having to face Young on Saturday, the Knicks also may get some additional reinforcements, as guard Immanuel Quickley has exited the protocols, per the team (Twitter link). New York now has just three players still in the protocols — Kevin Knox, Nerlens Noel, and Miles McBride.

Head coach Tom Thibodeau did caution today that Quickley may not be ready to play on Christmas, but said RJ Barrett, who also exited the protocols this week, has a better chance to be active (Twitter link via Tim Bontemps of ESPN).

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Trae Young In Health And Safety Protocols

December 19th, 2021 at 9:53am CST by Arthur Hill

Hawks star Trae Young has been placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Young will definitely miss tonight’s game against the Cavaliers, Wojanarowski adds, and his status for a marquee Christmas Day contest with the Knicks is uncertain (Twitter link). If Young tested positive for COVID-19, he will stay in the protocols for 10 days unless he returns two consecutive negative tests more than 24 hours apart.

He’s putting together All-Star numbers again this season, averaging 27.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 9.3 assists through 29 games. Counting tonight’s game, the Hawks are scheduled to play five times over the next 10 days.

Young is the first Atlanta player to enter the protocols. Keep up to date with all the cases around the league in our daily tracker.

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Devin Booker, Trae Young Named Players Of The Week

November 29th, 2021 at 2:36pm CST by Luke Adams

Suns guard Devin Booker and Hawks guard Trae Young have been named the NBA’s Players of The Week for the Western Conference and Eastern Conference respectively, the league announced today (via Twitter).

Booker’s Suns went 4-0 during the week of November 22-28 to extend their winning streak to 16 games, while Young’s Hawks were 3-1.

Booker averaged 30.0 PPG and 3.5 APG on .530/.560/.900 shooting in victories over San Antonio, Cleveland, New York, and Brooklyn. Young put up 31.3 PPG and 8.5 APG with a .563/.517/.833 shooting line, scoring at least 30 points in all four of his games.

The other nominees for the awards this week were Stephen Curry, D’Angelo Russell, and Karl-Anthony Towns in the West, along with Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland, Kevin Durant, and Terry Rozier in the East (Twitter link).

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Southeast Notes: Hawks, Hornets, Riley, Butler

October 31st, 2021 at 2:58pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The 3-3 Hawks have yet to recapture the momentum that propelled them to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, writes Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. With an intimidating schedule coming up in which Atlanta will play several 2021 playoff teams, Kirschner offers his thoughts on how the club can adjust.

While forwards Cam Reddish and John Collins have exhibited plenty of growth, other key Hawks players have struggled a bit. Point guard Trae Young is struggling to adjust to the league’s new free throw rules, while shooting guard Kevin Huerter is struggling to connect from deep.

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

  • The Hornets have already enjoyed a promising start to the 2021/22 season, writes Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer. New additions Ish Smith and Kelly Oubre have fit in well thus far, with Oubre connecting on a solid 35.7% of his three-point looks. 2022 restricted free agent forward Miles Bridges has taken his scoring to borderline All-Star heights, and Boone is pegging his future contract in the $100MM vicinity. When it comes to perimeter depth, Boone observes that Cody Martin, Jalen McDaniels, and Nick Richards are also improving.
  • The hot start of the Heat has Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel wondering if team president Pat Riley has finally nailed the club’s supporting lineup around All-Stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. The club has wholly recalibrated its frontcourt depth around Adebayo, and the early results have paid dividends thus far. The addition of former Raptors All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry has made a huge defensive impact on Miami, though his offense is struggling so far. Sixth man Tyler Herro also appears to have taken a leap in his third season.
  • Heat All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler has thrived alongside new addition Kyle Lowry. Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald wonders if Butler has been newly maximized as a player alongside the former six-time All-Star point guard.
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