Tyronn Lue

More Details On Chris Paul’s Exit From Clippers

December 16th, 2025 at 5:23pm CST by Rory Maher

Longtime point guard Chris Paul is in his final NBA season and is technically still under contract with the Clippers. However, Los Angeles announced that it was “parting ways” with the future Hall of Famer on December 3, and he is no longer around the team.

Reporting after Paul’s departure shed more light on the situation, with multiple outlets suggesting that the 40-year-old had clashed with players, coaches, and the front office due to his leadership style, which the Clippers found to be “acerbic” and unhelpful in a veteran locker room.

Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com takes an in-depth look at Paul’s acrimonious exit, writing that there was no “smoking gun” incident that led to his departure.

“There really wasn’t one thing,” one source close to the situation told Shelburne. “This isn’t like J.R. Smith throwing the soup in Cleveland.”

Instead, there were personality clashes between Paul and various members of the organization, including arguments with head coach Tyronn Lue and “especially” assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy. There were also major differences of opinion on Paul’s role.

According to Shelburne, the Clippers viewed Paul as a low maintenance veteran leader who would play a “very limited” on-court role; Paul confirmed he was OK with that, sources tell Shelburne, but he also wanted a chance to earn playing time and would try to be an “extension of the coaching staff.”

While Paul’s second stint with the Clippers started out well in the offseason, that quickly changed during training camp, as players and coaches “recoiled” from Paul’s suggestions and “abrasive” personality, Shelburne writes.

“That’s how Chris is,” one executive with another team said. “He wears you out. He’s convinced he’s right — and he often is right, which kind of pisses you off — and he’ll go around to everyone until you agree with him.”

Paul’s expectations for his role also changed during that time, as he was spearheading a second unit that was regularly “kicking (the starters’) ass” during camp, as forward John Collins put it. The 12-time All-Star had a substantial role during the preseason as well, Shelburne notes.

“If all they wanted was a cheerleader,” the same rival executive said, “why did they sign Chris Paul? I mean, they had him before. They knew what he was like.”

According to Shelburne’s sources, Paul attempted multiple times during the season to engage in team-building exercises and was concerned about the Clippers’ culture, but his efforts largely fell flat in a quiet locker room. Shelburne also provides more details on Paul’s disagreements with Lue and Van Gundy, his final meeting with president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank, and reports that Brook Lopez and Kawhi Leonard were Paul’s “most ardent supporters.”

Shelburne’s story is worth checking out in full for fans of Paul and/or the Clippers.

Pacific Notes: Clippers, Booker, Lakers’ Court, Post, LaVine

December 10th, 2025 at 7:24pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers are tied for 13th in the West at 6-18, but this season hasn’t been the complete disaster that the record would suggest, writes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register (subscription required). L.A. has been competitive in numerous games before seeing them slip away at the end, including its last two losses at Memphis and Minnesota. The Clippers are only three games away from a play-in spot, and coach Tyronn Lue believes a turnaround is coming.

“We’ve really played some good basketball and had a chance to win those games,” he said. “So, when you look at it and you’re not able to close the game and finish the game, that’s the only thing that’s kind of frustrating. … I mean, we definitely can turn it around. One big shot, one big rebound, one less turnover, things like that. And when you’re able to do that, that’s when you can start winning games.”

Injuries have played a role in the disappointing start, as Bradley Beal was lost for the season after appearing in just six games, Kawhi Leonard has been limited to 14 outings and Derrick Jones Jr. has been sidelined since mid-November with an MCL sprain. Nicolas Batum said the team needs to find a way to overcome that adversity.

“It’s not an excuse, but it is a challenge every day to come with a different lineup,” he said. “When you start losing one, two, three, four, five games, you think about that also. We right now just need to focus on what we have. We have more than enough to beat teams and to be winning games.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

There was hope that Devin Booker might be able to return from a groin injury in time for tonight’s NBA Cup contest at Oklahoma City, but the Suns downgraded him to out shortly before game time, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “He’s continuing to make progress,” coach Jordan Ott said (Twitter video link from Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic). “We checked in with him after his work there in shootaround. He’s making great progress. We just need a couple of days. We’ll be smart with this thing. It’s a long season.”
The Lakers won’t be using their NBA Cup court when they host the Spurs tonight, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. There were complaints that the surface was too slippery after it was unveiled for a November 25 game, and the Lakers opted for their normal court when they hosted Dallas in another NBA Cup contest three nights later. “That was bad,” Rui Hachimura said after playing on the court, per Dan Woike and Sam Jane of the Athletic. “I felt it right away when I was warming up. It just felt weird. Just like oily, slippery. Everybody was on the floor, literally. Every second.”
Warriors big man Quinten Post said last season’s playoff series against Houston showed him that he needed to get stronger so he could handle the NBA’s physical style of play, per Spencer Davies of RG. Post didn’t make his NBA debut until after Christmas last season, but now he’s an important part of Golden State’s rotation. “At first, your body has to get used to all the work that you put in, and you’re sore because we spent a lot of time in the weight room this summer,” Post said. “But now that the season has started, I definitely feel different just in being able to hold my ground and going up without fouling.”
The Kings have ruled Zach LaVine out for Thursday’s game against Denver due to soreness in his right thumb, relays Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). Dennis Schröder is doubtful with a strained right hip flexor.

Kerr, Spoelstra, Lue Top List Of NBA’s Highest-Paid Coaches

December 10th, 2025 at 4:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is the NBA’s highest-paid head coach, with an average annual value of $17.5MM on his current contract, according to Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico. Erik Spoelstra of the Heat and Tyronn Lue of the Clippers round out the top three at $15MM per year, Badenhausen adds.

While Kerr is the highest earner among head coaches in the short term, his deal with Golden State expires at the end of the 2025/26 season, whereas Spoelstra (eight years) and Lue (five years) signed longer-term extensions in 2024, so they’re assured of far more overall guaranteed money.

After that top three, there are several coaches in the range of $11MM annually, per Badenhausen: Doc Rivers of the Bucks, Ime Udoka of the Rockets, Joe Mazzulla of the Celtics, and Rick Carlisle of the Pacers.

The Knicks‘ Mike Brown is the only other coach with an average annual value of at least $10MM, with Mavericks coach Jason Kidd coming in at $9.5MM per year and Lakers coach JJ Redick at $9MM annually.

Interestingly, while Spoelstra, Kerr, and Lue are three of the NBA’s four longest-tenured head coaches, the other member of that group – Billy Donovan of the Bulls, the league’s third longest-tenured coach – doesn’t crack the list of top 10 salaries shared by Badenhausen.

Details on the other 20 NBA head coaches’ contracts aren’t included in Badenhausen’s report, but he notes that the lower end of coaching salaries is approximately $4MM per year. Presumably, that figure applies only to coaches who have the title permanently, rather than assistants who have received in-season promotions and are serving as interim replacements, such as James Borrego in New Orleans or Tiago Splitter in Portland.

For what it’s worth, the NBA’s estimated average salary for players in 2025/26 is $13.87MM, so just three of 30 head coaches are earning more than an average player in the league.

Los Angeles Notes: Paul, Lue, Smart, Kleber, James

December 9th, 2025 at 8:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Chris Paul says he’s “at peace” with the Clippers’ decision to “part ways” with him and is looking forward to his next NBA opportunity, according to Jordan Greene of People Magazine (hat tip to ESPN).

“I’m actually at peace with everything,” he said. “More than anything, I’m excited about being around and getting a chance to play a small role in whatever anything looks like next.”

On a related subject, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue denies reports that he wasn’t on speaking terms with Paul.

“That ain’t true,” Lue said, per Clippers beat writer Joey Linn (Twitter video link). “We were talking. How he gonna play and I’m not talking to him? There was a stretch when he wasn’t gonna play and be out of the rotation, it was tough for him because he’s a competitor.”

Lue added he wasn’t part of the final conversation with Paul when the future Hall of Famer was told by team officials that he was no longer welcome around the club. Lue added that Clippers players aren’t happy about the decision but he has “no problem with Chris.”

Here’s more on the Los Angeles teams:

Lakers guard Marcus Smart is not on the injury report for the team’s NBA Cup game against the Spurs on Wednesday. Smart missed the last six games due to a back ailment. “Back is feeling good. Felt good in practice today … I’m gonna give it a shot tomorrow and see how it feels,” Smart said, according to Lakers reporter Mike Trudell (Twitter link).
In fact, the Lakers could be at full strength on Wednesday. Maxi Kleber (lumbar muscle strain) is the only player who is considered questionable to play, NBA insider Marc Stein tweets.
LeBron James scored 29 points — a season high — against Philadelphia on Sunday, including 10 straight points in the fourth quarter. The Lakers forward feels he’s rounding into form, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “At 40 years old, I mean, it just takes a while for my body to kind of get back into a rhythm,” James said. “And so it felt good (Sunday) to kind of feel like myself a little bit.”

Clippers Notes: Paul, Bogdanovic, Leonard, More

December 6th, 2025 at 4:09pm CST by Rory Maher

Future Hall-of-Famer Chris Paul is away from the Clippers after the team announced on Wednesday that it would be “parting ways” with the 40-year-old point guard. The surprising news came less than two weeks after the 11-time All-NBA selection confirmed that 2025/26 would be his final season as an NBA player.

Appearing on Amazon Prime Video on Friday (Twitter video link), NBA insider Chris Haynes discussed Paul’s acrimonious exit from Los Angeles.

“The Clippers maintain that there were a series of events and conversations between the front office and Chris Paul over the last few months that ultimately led to his departure,” Haynes said. “The front office believed they had intel that Chris Paul was criticizing the coaching staff, front office and players. And this was something that they felt they’d been hearing for the past couple of months.

“And there was a meeting about a month ago between (president of basketball operations) Lawrence Frank and Chris Paul where Frank addressed this issue again. Chris Paul vehemently denied those accusations. But ultimately Chris Paul elected to apologize to his teammates a few days later if his words or actions were misconstrued.

“(Paul) asked Frank, I was told, to set up a meeting between (Paul) and (head coach) Tyronn Lue — those two haven’t spoken in weeks,” Haynes continued. “Frank said he would get to that — it never happened. Sources said Lue refused to meet with Chris Paul.”

Marc J. Spears of Andscape reported on Thursday that Paul wanted to keep playing this season, and Paul essentially confirmed as much in a text to Haynes (Twitter link).

“I’m just staying ready,” Paul wrote. “I’m hooping right now. I don’t (know) what’s next. I’m still scarred by it all. Still processing everything. But I’m staying ready.”

Here’s more on the Clippers:

Veteran wing Bogdan Bogdanovic could return to action on Saturday in Minnesota after missing the past eight games with a left hip contusion. He’s probable to suit up against the Wolves, the team announced today. The slumping Clips badly need Bogdanovic’s shot-creation skills, particularly with Bradley Beal out for the year with a fractured hip.
Kawhi Leonard is not on L.A.’s injury report today and Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link) hears the star forward is expected to play both ends of back-to-backs going forward, assuming he’s healthy. In 13 appearances this season, Leonard has averaged 25.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.0 steals per game, with a shooting line of .494/.385/.971.
The Clippers are now 2-9 over their past 11 games after dropping Friday’s contest in Memphis. As The Orange County Register relays, the team only managed to score two points over the final six-plus of the fourth quarter and gave up a 9-0 run to conclude the game, which the Clips lost by nine points.

Harden, Leonard ‘Shocked’ By Clippers’ Split With CP3

December 4th, 2025 at 8:06am CST by Luke Adams

Clippers stars James Harden and Kawhi Leonard learned of the team’s split with Chris Paul via social media and told reporters on Wednesday that the news came as a surprise, according to reports from Joe Vardon of The Athletic and Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

“I’m just as confused and shocked as you guys, the world,” Harden said after the Clippers’ win over Atlanta. “Definitely surprised me. But not just Chris, it’s a lot that we were dealing with. But that is out of my hands. I got to focus on what I got to focus on and what I can control. I guess the front office felt that was the best decision for the organization.”

“It was shocking to me,” Leonard said, adding that he had to re-read the news. “I guess they had a conversation, and front office made a decision.”

Reporting on Wednesday indicated that tension between Paul and head coach Tyronn Lue was one of the factors that contributed to the team’s decision to part ways with the veteran point guard. Lue addressed the situation prior to the Clippers’ game vs. Atlanta, telling reporters that this isn’t the outcome he was hoping for when L.A. signed Paul over the summer.

“Do I want to see CP go out like this? No, I have a lot of respect for him,” Lue said. “He’s been a friend of mine over the years, and you don’t want to see a great go out like this. I’m pretty sure he will find something because he’s a great player. [But] I didn’t want to see it end like this.

“… I don’t like it. It just didn’t work out like we thought it would. I don’t like it for CP. It just wasn’t a good fit, and we understood that. It was an organization (decision), they made the choice and so moving forward, we got to see what we do.”

Vardon, Sam Amick, and Law Murray of The Athletic shared more details on how the relationship between the Clippers and Paul deteriorated to the point that a divorce was necessary. Here are a few highlights from their report:

Paul’s “constant criticism” of the team was felt in “every corner” of the organization during the first several weeks of the season as the Clippers got off to a disappointing start. League sources tell The Athletic that members of the organization – including some teammates, as well as Lue and his coaching staff – took exception to the “acerbic” and “disparaging” nature of Paul’s perspective.
While Paul has been known to be an effective mentor to young players in the past, there weren’t many young players on the Clippers’ roster for him to take that role with, and his criticisms frequently came off as a “grating” and unhelpful among a group heavy on veteran players and coaches, league sources tell The Athletic.
Paul had multiple meetings with Clippers officials in recent weeks, with one source telling The Athletic that the club wanted him to stop “locker room lawyering.” League sources also told The Athletic that CP3 was “openly critical” of the team during a film session on Tuesday, though by that point the front officed had already made the decision to part ways with him.
When the Clippers signed Paul over the summer, they went to great lengths to manage his expectations for his role – which would be a modest one – in the hopes of avoiding a situation like this. Because he signed as a free agent, he’s not trade-eligible until December 15, so it remains to be seen whether the team will wait until then to try to work out a deal or if he’ll be waived earlier than that. President of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said during a media session on Wednesday that the club will work with Paul’s representatives to determine next steps.

Clippers Rumors: Zubac, Collins, Paul, Sanders, Lue, Bogdanovic

December 3rd, 2025 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

There have been “mixed signals” about whether the Clippers would seriously entertain the idea of discussing a trade involving standout center Ivica Zubac this season, according to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, who hears that no player on the roster has generated more interest from teams around the league than Zubac.

If the Clippers ultimately decide they’re willing to explore moving Zubac, the expectation is that they’d seek at least two first-round picks, sources tell ClutchPoints. Siegel wonders if the Celtics, who have a hole in the middle, could make a play for Zubac using Anfernee Simons‘ expiring contract, noting that L.A. had interest in Simons before he was traded from Portland to Boston. However, that sounds like mere speculation at this point.

One thing that seems clear, according to Siegel, is that the Clippers are open to making a deal involving John Collins and his expiring $26.6MM contract. L.A. acquired Collins from Utah in a three-team trade over the summer, but he has yet to make the sort of impact the team had hoped for. His scoring average of 11.9 points per game is his lowest since his rookie season in 2017/18, and he’s knocking down just 31.6% of his three-point tries while averaging a career-worst 4.9 rebounds per game.

Here’s more on the Clippers:

Keith Smith of Spotrac and a panel of ESPN insiders explore potential next steps for the Clippers and Chris Paul after their surprising divorce. As Smith observes, if the Clippers waive Paul within the next two or three weeks, it would be a strong signal that the team plans to promote Kobe Sanders from his two-way contract to a standard roster spot sooner rather than later. L.A. would need to add a replacement for Paul within 14 days of waiving him and doesn’t currently have enough room below its first-apron hard cap to sign a free agent to a minimum-salary contract. Converting Sanders, who could get a rookie minimum deal that wouldn’t be subject to tax variance, would be the only viable path to filling the 14th roster spot right now if Paul is cut.
Paul “called out” teammates, coaches, and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank during his brief stint as a Clipper, a league source tells Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. According to Turner’s source, Paul apologized, but “everyone was fed up.” Turner adds that there’s no guarantee Paul will end up signing with another team once he’s officially let go by L.A., given his age, his declining production, and his “powerful” voice in the locker room, which not every team would welcome.
Amid rumors that head coach Tyronn Lue and Paul weren’t on speaking terms in recent weeks, Frank told reporters today that Lue is a “hell of a coach” and that he’ll remain in his current position “for a long time,” per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link).
The Clippers initially stated that Bogdan Bogdanovic was considered day-to-day due to his left hip contusion, but the veteran guard will miss a seventh consecutive game on Wednesday as a result of the injury, tweets Law Murray of The Athletic. Bogdanovic last suited up on November 20.

Clippers Announce They’re ‘Parting Ways’ With Chris Paul

December 3rd, 2025 at 11:13am CST by Luke Adams

11:13 am: Paul clashed with members of the Clippers’ organization as a result of his leadership style, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link), who hears from sources that the team felt the veteran point guard had become “disruptive” in his efforts to vocally hold players, coaches, and front office members accountable.

Former Clippers guard Lou Williams made similar comments earlier in the day during an appearance on FanDuel’s Run It Back show, noting that Paul was attempting to hold players and coaches accountable and “had some criticisms” of the Clippers’ front office (Twitter video link).

According to Charania, head coach Tyronn Lue and Paul hadn’t been on speaking terms for several weeks. Haynes, meanwhile, reports (via Twitter) that Paul asked to meet with Lue a few weeks ago to discuss allegations that he had been a negative presence for the team and the Clippers’ coach refused to meet with him.

6:51 am: The Clippers have put out a statement announcing that they’re “parting ways” with future Hall-of-Famer Chris Paul, who signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract with the team over the summer for what will be his final year in the NBA.

NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link) first reported the news at around the same time Paul posted an Instagram story that reads, “Just found out I’m being sent home,” accompanied by a peace-sign emoji.

“We are parting ways with Chris and he will no longer be with the team,” Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said in a statement to Law Murray of the Athletic. “We will work with him on the next step of his career.

“Chris is a legendary Clipper who has had a historic career. I want to make one thing very clear. No one is blaming Chris for our underperformance. I accept responsibility for the record we have right now. There are a lot of reasons why we’ve struggled. We’re grateful for the impact Chris has made on the franchise.”

Sources confirm to Murray that the decision to part ways with the Clippers wasn’t Paul’s and wasn’t initiated by him.

A 12-time All-Star who made five of those All-Star appearances during his first stint with the Clippers from 2011-17, Paul returned to Los Angeles for his age-40 season in the hopes of providing his former team with some reliable depth behind star point guard James Harden.

However, the season hasn’t gone as planned for Paul or the Clippers, who are off to a miserable 5-16 start. The 21-year veteran averaged just 2.9 points and 3.3 assists in 14.3 minutes per game across 16 outings as a Clipper, shooting 32.1% from the floor. He fell out of the rotation for several games in November and has only returned in recent weeks as L.A. deals with a handful of injuries to key players.

Despite the apparent split between the two sides, the Clippers are unlikely to waive Paul anytime soon unless he agrees to a buyout. The team is currently operating just $1.28MM below its first-apron hard cap and doesn’t have the ability to sign a free agent to a prorated minimum-salary contract until January 7.

Since L.A. is carrying just 14 players on its standard roster, waiving Paul would drop that number to 13 and would require the club to get back to the 14-man minimum within two weeks. Given those roster and cap limitations, the Clippers will likely wait until Paul becomes trade-eligible on December 15 and explore the market for him at that time, assuming he’s not open to negotiating a buyout.

According to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (Twitter link), the Knicks have discussed the idea of targeting Paul in a trade to add point guard depth. New York is dealing with a hard cap of its own and would need to send out at least a minimum-salary player in order to accommodate Paul, who used to be represented by Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose when Rose was still a player agent.

As Murray writes, this development with Paul represents the latest instance of the Clippers unceremoniously divorcing from a key figure of their “Lob City” era. Back in January 2018, the team traded Blake Griffin to Detroit just a few months into his new five-year, maximum-salary contract with L.A.

Clippers Notes: Struggles, Powell, Harden, Zubac

December 2nd, 2025 at 7:55am CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers went just 2-13 in November, making it one of the worst months in franchise history, writes Law Murray of The Athletic. As Murray observes, the Clippers have had 13 or more losses in a month in the past, but none of the other versions of the team that achieved that ignominious feat had the sort of expectations entering the season that this one did.

Injuries have resulted in the Clippers relying on certain players more than they wanted to, Murray notes, with John Collins and Kris Dunn having entered the starting lineup in recent weeks despite head coach Tyronn Lue determining before the season that he preferred having both players coming off the bench.

Many of the Clippers’ offseason additions also haven’t worked out as expected. Center Brook Lopez and point guard Chris Paul have very much shown their age and have fallen out the rotation, while shooting guard Bradley Beal suffered a hip injury that will sideline him for the rest of the season.

A defense anchored by Ivica Zubac was one of L.A.’s strengths last season, when the team finished third in defensive rating. However, the Clippers have plummeted to 27th in that category this season, according to Murray, who writes that the club doesn’t get back on defense, doesn’t defend three-pointers or rebound well, and doesn’t force turnovers.

Here’s more on the struggling Clippers:

The Clippers’ December began the same way their November did — with a loss at the hands of the Heat, led by former Clipper Norman Powell. Powell scored a team-high 30 points on 12-of-18 shooting and was a +33 in his 32 minutes on the court, as his former club fell to 5-16 on the season. “I would have never guessed that they were going to be 5-16 and where they’re at right now,” Powell said after the game, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.
As Reynolds details, after the Heat opened the second half on a 9-0 run on Monday, Lue pulled his entire starting five just 86 seconds into the third quarter. Four of those five players eventually got back into the game, but James Harden – who had five turnovers and was a -39 in 20 minutes – didn’t return. According to Reynolds, Lue entered the post-game interview room almost immediately after the game ended, didn’t see anyone there, and left, so there wasn’t an opportunity to ask him about the lineup decision.
As bad as the season has gone for the Clippers, they’re in a decent position to pivot away from their current roster if they’re not able to turn things around in the coming weeks, writes Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link). While the Clippers don’t control several of their own draft picks in the next few years – including, most notably, the 2026 first-round pick they owe the Thunder – they also don’t have any long-term salary obligations on their books and could probably extract solid value for some of their veterans on the trade market. Zubac, in particular, would be a very popular target, given his age (28) and team-friendly contract (three years, $58.7MM).

Western Notes: Clippers, Suns, Rockets, Wembanyama, Spurs

November 30th, 2025 at 10:43pm CST by Rory Maher

Head coach Tyronn Lue thought having Kawhi Leonard back in the fold would help turn around the Clippers‘ disappointing season, but that hasn’t happened over the past four games, observes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. Los Angeles has dropped all four contests since Leonard returned and is now 5-15 after losing at home to a struggling Dallas team on Saturday.

“I know we’ve had some tough circumstances in the last five years, which is six years, but I have been able to figure it out. But this year, it’s been tough,” Lue said.

Lue has tried several different lineup combinations over the first 20 games, Carr writes, but none have been effective. With an injured and aging roster, both the present and future are looking pretty bleak, leading to fans on social media calling for major changes, including the ouster of Lue. Fans aren’t the only ones who are frustrated.

“The situation here is difficult,” James Harden said. “We’re not making shots offensively. Defensively, we just allow game-plan mistakes, we allow that to happen too many times, so that’s one of the reasons why we lose games.”

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

On the other end of the spectrum, the Suns have been one of the most surprising teams in a positive way through the first quarter of the season. As Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic writes, Phoenix was widely projected to miss the playoffs in 2025/26, and those predictions looked accurate after the team started out 1-4. However, the Suns have gone 11-5 since and are currently 12-9, making them the No. 7 seed in the West. Whether the team’s success is sustainable remains to be seen, but Phoenix has dealt with its share of injuries as well and continues to find ways to remain competitive with players out.
The 13-4 Rockets have the NBA’s second-best offense despite attempting the fewest three-pointers in the league and not shooting well on their two-point tries, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic. Houston’s unusual offensive strategy is reliant on dominating the boards, which leads to extra shot attempts — the Rockets are outrebounding their opponents by more than 10 per game, with most of that work coming on the offensive glass.
Injured star Victor Wembanyama has been cheering on the Spurs as he continues to recover from a calf strain, per Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. The French big man has been leading the team’s supporter section — nicknamed “The Jackals” — during recent home games. In fact, Wembanyama came up with the idea of the section and hand-picked the captains over the summer, McDonald writes. “The saying goes, when people show you who they are, believe them,” head coach Mitch Johnson said. “He’s been committed and invested. He’s trusted. He’s worked. He’s had his actions back up his words. It’s awesome.”

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