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Heat Notes: First-Round Series, Robinson, Rozier, Draft, Lillard

April 21st, 2024 at 10:57am CST by Arthur Hill

If the Heat have any advantage heading into their first-round series with the Celtics, it comes from being more battle-tested, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. While Miami was fighting its way through a pair of high-stakes play-in games this week, Boston was resting up and preparing for its playoff opener. Chiang notes that the Celtics wrapped up the top seed in the East weeks ago, and their regulars haven’t played at all since April 11. Meanwhile, the Heat maintained their intensity through a late-season battle for seeding.

“I love this position, honestly,” Tyler Herro said. “A lot of people didn’t think we were going to win [Friday against the Bulls] and that’s part of it. I feel like we’re better when our backs are against the wall anyways. So we’re going to go to Boston and come up with a game plan with the coaching staff to stop one of the better teams, pretty much ever really, on paper.”

With Jimmy Butler sidelined by an MCL injury and Terry Rozier still out with neck spasms, the Heat are missing two key components from an offense that ranked 21st in the league and often struggled to produce points. Miami’s best chance to duplicate last year’s surprising playoff run is to start by being physical with the Celtics, who led the NBA in offensive efficiency.

“Naturally with some of our firepower out and some guys banged up, it’s going to be an uphill battle,” Kevin Love said. “But different guys are just going to have to step up. You saw it last year with guys going down. But we just have to continue to weather the storm and understand we’re going to be in for a big fight.”

There’s more on the Heat:

  • Duncan Robinson, who has been dealing with back issues, has been cleared to play in today’s series opener, tweets Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel, who posted a video of Robinson testing out his back while shooting this morning. Robinson logged 12 minutes and scored eight points in Friday’s win over Chicago.
  • The official diagnosis hasn’t changed for Rozier, Winderman adds (Twitter link), with coach Erik Spoelstra telling reporters, “We’ll continue to treat him day-to-day.” An earlier report described Rozier’s injury as week-to-week.
  • The play-in results have Miami locked into the 15th pick in this year’s draft, Chiang states in a separate story. The Heat won’t be permitted to trade their selection before the June 26 draft because they owe a lottery-protected first-rounder to Oklahoma City in 2025. It will be Miami’s highest draft choice in five years, and Chiang lists Purdue center Zach Edey, Duke center Kyle Filipowski, Providence guard Devin Carter, Colorado forward Tristan da Silva and Duke guard Jared McCain as players who might be available in that range.
  • After trying to trade for Damian Lillard for most of last summer, the Heat could renew that pursuit this offseason if the veteran guard decides he wants out of Milwaukee, Winderman notes in another piece. Winderman expects team president Pat Riley to go star hunting again, listing Donovan Mitchell, Karl-Anthony Towns and Pascal Siakam among a large group of potential targets.
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Draft Notes: Mogbo, Bal, Agbo, Gaines, Da Silva, Edey

April 7th, 2024 at 7:00pm CST by Luke Adams

San Francisco senior forward/center Jonathan Mogbo announced on Twitter that he has decided to enter his name in the 2024 NBA draft pool while maintaining his final year of college eligibility.

The No. 70 prospect on ESPN’s list of the top 100 players in the 2024 draft class and a member of the All-WCC first team, Mogbo has played at four different programs in his four college seasons. He transferred to San Francisco from Missouri State in 2023 and had a big year for the Dons, averaging a double-double (14.2 PPG, 10.1 RPG) in 34 games (28.9 MPG).

Here are a few more draft-related notes:

  • Another member of the All-WCC first team, Santa Clara junior wing Adama-Alpha Bal, has also declared for the draft, announcing on Instagram that he’ll be testing the waters this spring. After playing a modest role off Arizona’s bench in his first two college seasons, Bal put up 14.4 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 3.1 APG on .433/.354/.821 shooting as a full-time starter at Santa Clara in 2023/24.
  • Boise State senior swingman Chibuzo Agbo will enter the draft while maintaining his final year of college eligibility, tweets Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. Agbo averaged 13.7 PPG and 5.1 RPG with a .409 3PT% in 33 games (all starts) in ’23/24.
  • UAB senior guard Eric Gaines announced on Instagram that he’ll be putting his “full focus” on the NBA draft process, which suggests he’s planning to go pro rather than leaving the door open to one more year of college ball. Gaines averaged 12.3 PPG, 5.5 APG, 3.9 RPG, and 2.3 SPG in 35 games (33.7 MPG) for the Blazers this season.
  • Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN (Insider link) share their updated prospect rankings for 2024, highlighting risers like Colorado forward Tristan Da Silva, who is all the way up to No. 18 after previously being ranked 40th. Another NCAA Tournament standout, Purdue big man Zach Edey has moved into lottery territory in ESPN’s latest rankings, at No. 13.
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Draft Decisions: Bona, J. James, Da Silva, More

May 31st, 2023 at 1:30pm CST by Luke Adams

College players who declared for the 2023 NBA draft as early entrants while maintaining their NCAA eligibility have until the end of the day on Wednesday to either withdraw from the draft or forgo their remaining eligibility. Players who take the latter route could still technically pull out of the draft before the NBA’s June 12 deadline, but wouldn’t have the option of returning to school if they miss the NCAA’s May 31 deadline.

As a result, we’re getting a flurry of updates today on prospects who had been testing the draft waters.

UCLA’s Adem Bona, for instance, has decided to remove his name from the draft pool and rejoin the Bruins for his sophomore year, reports Jonathan Givony of ESPN. Bona, the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, had been the No. 48 player on ESPN’s 2023 big board.

Tennessee wing Josiah-Jordan James, the No. 77 player on ESPN’s board, has also decided to pull out of the 2023 draft and will take advantage of his final year of college eligibility, he announced on Twitter. Colorado forward Tristan Da Silva – ESPN’s No. 83 prospect – will head back to school too, as he tells Givony.

While most players announcing decisions today are withdrawing from the draft, that’s not the case for everyone. Memphis forward Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu, for instance, has opted to keep his name in the draft and go pro, agent Scott Nichols tells Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link).

In our latest batch of updates, however, Akobundu-Ehiogu is a rarity. Here are several more early entrants who are withdrawing from the draft:

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50 Prospects Reportedly Invited To G League Elite Camp

May 5th, 2023 at 8:12am CST by Luke Adams

A total of 50 prospects for the 2023 NBA draft have been invited to the NBA’s G League Elite Camp, according to reports from Adam Zagoria of Forbes and Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report (Twitter links).

Those players are as follows:

The name of the G League Elite Camp is a bit of a misnomer — when first introduced, the event showcased NBAGL players, but the field of participants now consists exclusively of draft prospects. The event will take place on May 13 and 14 in Chicago, ahead of this year’s draft combine.

Like the combine, the Elite Camp brings young players to Chicago to meet NBA teams and participate in drills and scrimmages. While the combine focuses on the top prospects in a given draft class, the Elite Camp generally features prospects who are trying to break into that upper echelon of prospects but are more likely to go undrafted. The top performers at the event typically receive invites to the combine.

Of the 50 G League Elite Camp invitees, 15 show up on Jonathan Givony’s list of this year’s top 100 prospects at ESPN.com. However, no Elite Camp invitee ranks higher than No. 58 (Hart) on ESPN’s board.

The G League Elite Camp will give the invitees who declared for the draft as early entrants an opportunity to see where they stand ahead of the draft withdrawal deadline on May 31. Not all of the players who participate in this event will remain in the draft pool.

Some NBA players who have participated in past G League Elite Camps include Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado, Pacers forward Oshae Brissett, Clippers guard Terance Mann, and Heat wing Max Strus.

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Mouhamed Gueye Among NCAA Players Testing Draft Waters

March 26th, 2023 at 12:27pm CST by Luke Adams

For a second straight year, Washington State big man Mouhamed Gueye will test the NBA draft waters, he tells Jamey Vinnick of CougFan.com (subscription required). Gueye also entered the draft pool in 2022 following his freshman year, but eventually withdrew and returned to the Cougars.

Gueye enjoyed a breakout season in 2022/23, averaging 14.3 points and 8.4 rebounds in 32.1 minutes per game across 33 appearances. He currently comes in at No. 48 on ESPN’s big board, making him a legitimate candidate to be drafted if he keeps his name in the 2023 pool.

Gueye also stated that he doesn’t intend to enter the transfer portal, so if he withdraws from the draft for a second consecutive year, it sounds like he’d be back with Washington State.

The following NCAA players are also declaring for the 2023 NBA draft, having made their announcements at some point within the last several days. Unless otherwise indicated, these players are simply testing the draft waters while maintaining their college eligibility for now.

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