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Zach LaVine Will See Knee Specialist

February 13th, 2022 at 9:55am CST by Arthur Hill

Bulls guard Zach LaVine will visit a knee specialist in Los Angeles this week, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. LaVine wants to get a more in-depth evaluation of his left knee, which has been causing him recurring pain. He still expects to take part in All-Star Weekend, Wojnarowski adds.

LaVine underwent an MRI last month that showed no structural damage in the knee, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link). However, he has been dealing with soreness in the knee since early January. LaVine will miss Chicago’s final two games before the All-Star break, Johnson states.

LaVine sat out Saturday’s contest against the Thunder after playing nearly 37 minutes Friday night. He was in obvious discomfort during that game, observes Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago, and has been dealing with back spasms as well as pain in the knee.

“I’m sure he’s not quite where he wants to be physically,” coach Billy Donovan said Friday. “I give him a lot of credit. He’s going out there and competing and trying to do what he can to help the team.”

LaVine, who missed five games in January because of the knee, is scheduled to take part in both the three-point contest on Saturday and the All-Star Game next Sunday. Donovan said the team will trust his judgment about participating in both events, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times.

Donovan added that he has talked to LaVine about resting him in back-to-back situations for the remainder of the regular season.

‘‘More often than not, he wants to play,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘But if it’s a situation that he’s dealing with something that will cause longer-term issues or problems, I would say that he’s very smart and knows his body well. At the heart of him? Yeah, he wants to play. [But] he understands where his knee is at, he understands the plan, he understands what we’ve got to do to manage him and he’s part of that. He obviously signed off on it and agrees with it.’’

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LeBron Chooses Giannis, Curry In All-Star Draft; Durant Picks Embiid, Morant

February 10th, 2022 at 7:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

After James Harden was traded away from the Nets on Thursday, former teammate Kevin Durant opted not to pick him in the All-Star draft conducted on Thursday night. Harden was the last player chosen by LeBron James for Team LeBron, as the league announced (via Twitter).

LeBron’s starters, besides himself, are Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Jokic.

Durant, who won’t play in the All-Star Game at Cleveland due to his knee injury, chose Joel Embiid, Ja Morant, Jayson Tatum, Trae Young and Andrew Wiggins as Team Durant’s starters.

James selected Luka Doncic as his top reserve. His guard-heavy team also features Darius Garland, Chris Paul, Jimmy Butler, Donovan Mitchell, Fred VanVleet and Harden.

Team Durant’s bench includes Devin Booker, Karl-Anthony Towns, Zach LaVine, Dejounte Murray, Khris Middleton, LaMelo Ball and Rudy Gobert.

Thus, numerous teammates will be on opposing clubs for the All-Star game, including the Jazz’s Gobert and Mitchell and the Suns’ Paul and Booker.

The game will be played February 20 in Cleveland.

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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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Patrick Williams To Return In Regular Season?

February 6th, 2022 at 1:09pm CST by Rory Maher

Bulls coach Billy Donovan says there’s a “very good possibility” that second-year forward Patrick Williams will return during the regular season, barring any setbacks, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link). Donovan hedged the statement by saying he’s not sure when Williams might return and it isn’t certain, but he’s optimistic about the forward’s recovery progress.

Williams has been sidelined since late October after undergoing surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left wrist. At the time, the Bulls gave a recovery timeline of four-to-six months.

The end of February would be four months out from surgery. If Williams returns around that time, he’d have roughly 20 regular season games left to build up his endurance and get a rhythm prior to a potential playoff run. If it’s closer to the end of March, there would be less than 10 games remaining. Chicago’s last regular season game is April 10, at Minnesota.

Williams, 20, was the No. 4 pick in the 2020 draft and played strong defense last season as a rookie, starting all 71 games in which he appeared and averaging 9.2 points and 4.6 rebounds in 27.9 minutes per contest. He’s played just five games this season due to the wrist injury.

Last month Williams made progress in his recovery, going from a hard cast to a removable brace. His name has been floated in trade rumors this season, but the Bulls are very high on the young forward and reportedly remain resistant to the idea of discussing him in trades, unless they’re overwhelmed by an offer.

The Bulls have dealt with a multitude of injuries to key players this season, including Williams, Zach LaVine (knee, back spasms), Lonzo Ball (knee surgery), Derrick Jones Jr. (knee), and Alex Caruso (wrist surgery). LaVine will miss his second straight game Sunday with back spasms, Johnson tweets.

Despite the injury woes, the resilient Bulls are first in the East with a 33-19 record, led by a stellar season from All-Star starter DeMar DeRozan.

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Injury Notes: LaVine, White, Harden, Garland, Hayward, More

February 4th, 2022 at 11:02pm CST by Rory Maher

Bulls All-Star Zach LaVine has been suffering through back spasms recently, Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic relays. LaVine was noticeably wincing during Chicago’s 127-120 overtime defeat to Toronto on Thursday. Center Nikola Vučević says the team appreciates LaVine’s commitment to winning despite not being fully healthy.

“It tells us a lot about Zach playing through back spasms,” Vučević said. “It’s not easy. It limits you a lot. You just don’t have that freedom of movement, especially in the back. It’s a big, important part of your body, especially when you play basketball. I’m sure it was bothering him a lot, especially on the offensive end trying to score and be aggressive.

“But it speaks a lot about his commitment to winning and to this team trying to still be out there. Even him not being 100 percent helps us a lot, so we appreciate him being out there.”

Coach Billy Donovan told reporters, including K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link), that the Bulls are hopeful LaVine will return Sunday after sitting out Friday on the second game of a back-to-back. However, Donovan also said that LaVine is still battling the knee soreness that sidelined him for a handful of games last month.

Here are some more injury updates from around the NBA:

  • LaVine wasn’t the only Bulls player absent from Friday’s 122-115 win at Indiana, as Coby White also missed the game due to a groin strain, Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago tweets. Donovan said White has had lingering discomfort in the groin, but it was aggravated against Toronto.
  • Nets coach Steve Nash said James Harden was held out of Brooklyn’s 125-102 blowout loss at Utah on Friday for precautionary reasons, per Nick Friedell of ESPN (via Twitter). The team is giving Harden a couple extra days rest to ensure his hamstring is feeling better. Nash doesn’t think Harden will need an MRI and is hopeful he’ll return to action Sunday at Denver. Rudy Gay exited the game early for the Jazz with right knee soreness and didn’t return to the court, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets.
  • Cavaliers guard Darius Garland, recently named an All-Star for the first time, missed his third consecutive game Friday at Charlotte with lower back soreness, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Gordon Hayward returned to action for the Hornets in the team’s 102-101 loss after missing the past two weeks due to COVID-19, Boone notes.
  • Lakers forward Carmelo Anthony will likely be out Saturday vs. New York, providing extra rest before the team re-evaluates his strained right hamstring next week, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. LeBron James is also doubtful for the contest against the Knicks with knee swelling, per Marc Berman of The New York Post (Twitter link).
  • Heat center Omer Yurtseven has cleared the health and safety protocols and is available for Saturday’s game at Charlotte, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports (via Twitter).
  • Cade Cunningham, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2021 draft, missed his second straight game for the Pistons Friday with a hip pointer, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com tweets. Coach Dwane Casey said the injury isn’t considered serious, but the team is being cautious with its rising star. The Pistons fell to the Celtics, 102-93.
  • Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon missed his second consecutive game Friday with hamstring tightness, per Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports (Twitter link). The Nuggets lost to the Pelicans without Gordon, 113-105.
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Garland, VanVleet Make All-Star Team For First Time

February 3rd, 2022 at 6:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Cavaliers guard Darius Garland and Raptors guard Fred VanVleet were chosen for the All-Star Game for the first time in their respective careers. They were named, along with a handful of other players, to the Eastern Conference All-Star reserve pool on Thursday, per the NBA (Twitter link).

Garland is averaging 19.8 PPG and 8.2 APG for the surprising Cavaliers. VanVleet has posted averages of 21.5 PPG and 7.0 APG this season.

The list of Eastern Conference reserves also includes the Nets’ James Harden, the Celtics’ Jayson Tatum, the Bulls’ Zach LaVine, the Bucks’ Khris Middleton and the Heat‘s Jimmy Butler. The reserves were chosen by the league’s coaches.

Garland will be playing in front of his home fans in Cleveland on February 20.

The pool of Eastern Conference starters was announced a week ago. Sixers center Joel Embiid, Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Nets forward Kevin Durant are the frontcourt starters, while the backcourt players in the starter pool are DeMar DeRozan (Bulls) and Trae Young (Hawks).

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Western Notes: Williams, James, Robinson-Earl, Murray

January 31st, 2022 at 8:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Suns coach Monty Williams and his staff will coach Team LeBron (James) at the All-Star Game in Cleveland, according to an ESPN report. Phoenix is guaranteed to have the best record in the conference before the cutoff date of February 6. Williams will coach in the All-Star Game for the first time, and he’ll be the first Phoenix head coach to do so since Mike D’Antoni in 2007.

We have more from the Western Conference:

  • An MRI on James’ left knee revealed only general swelling and he might return to action as soon as Wednesday, Lakers coach Frank Vogel told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin and other media members. James has missed the last three games. “Just going to keep an eye on it day to day,” Vogel said.
  • The Thunder assigned Jeremiah Robinson-Earl to their G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, for a Monday afternoon game, according to a team press release. It was somewhat surprising, since Robinson-Earl has started 36 games for the Thunder and has averaged 24.7 MPG this month. Head coach Mark Daigneault said it was part of the development process, Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman tweets. “Obviously on the surface it looks a little peculiar,” he said. “What I’d say is, one thing that we’ve learned and that we’re trying to apply is that changing environments, changing circumstances, changing roles is good for development.”
  • Klay Thompson, Victor Oladipo and Zach LaVine are among the opposing players who have reached out to Nuggets guard Jamal Murray during his recovery from a serious knee injury, Mike Singer of the Denver Post writes. Those players have also gone through the process of a long rehab.
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Central Notes: Young, Wigginton, Hayes, LaVine

January 29th, 2022 at 3:45pm CST by JD Shaw

Former Bulls forward Thaddeus Young discussed a variety of subjects with K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, including his time with the team and how he found out that he was being traded to San Antonio.

Young has only played in 25 games with the Spurs, a team clearly focused on building for the future. He remains grateful for his time with the Bulls, where he averaged an impressive 12.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game last season.

“Just the moments that I had with my teammates,” Young said when asked about what stands out from his Bulls tenure. “Those are all great guys. We all know I love Zach (LaVine) to death. And he feels the same way. Getting a chance to help groom Pat (Williams) and Coby (White) a little bit. And then the staff was great. I loved having conversations with everyone on staff and making sure the guys were good.”

San Antonio could trade Young before the February 10 deadline, or the team could reach a buyout agreement with the 33-year-old. Chicago has a need at power forward, but is ineligible to reacquire Young unless he’s traded to another team and then waived. The Bulls could also pursue a veteran like Paul Millsap, who reportedly isn’t expected to play another game with Brooklyn.

Here are some other notes from the Central Division:

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Injury Updates: Payne, Crowder, Ayton, Gobert, Bogdanovic, LaVine

January 24th, 2022 at 8:37pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Suns will be without one of their key rotation players for at least a couple weeks. Cameron Payne will be reevaluated in two weeks after suffering a sprained right wrist, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic reports. The reserve guard suffered the injury on Saturday against Indiana.

Payne is averaging 10.5 PPG and 3.6 APG as Chris Paul‘s backup. Elfrid Payton will likely absorb some of his minutes and Devin Booker will see more action at the point.

Jae Crowder (wrist) and Deandre Ayton  (ankle) also missed Monday’s game against Utah but are considered day-to-day. Ayton has missed four consecutive games due to a right ankle sprain suffered at Detroit on January 16.

We have more injury updates:

  • Jazz center Rudy Gobert suffered a left calf strain in the late going against Golden State on Sunday, according to Sarah Todd of the Deseret News. “I tried to play through it. But I could feel I wasn’t moving right and I didn’t want to make it worse,” he said. Gobert missed Monday’s game against Phoenix but the strain is considered mild and he isn’t expected to be sidelined for an extended period, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets.
  • The Jazz‘s Bojan Bogdanovic has a left finger avulsion fracture but can continue to play with it, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets. The injury, which occurred against Houston last week, is a ligament that has been pulled off the bone. He can’t bend it and will require a splint for the next four-to-six weeks. Bogdanovic also didn’t play on Monday.
  • Bulls star guard Zach LaVine returned to action on Monday after a five-game absence, James Collier of ESPN writes. LaVine was sidelined with a left knee injury. He had not played since exiting in the first quarter on January 14 against the Warriors after feeling soreness in his left knee.
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Eastern Notes: Harris, Hornets, LaVine, Green, Claxton

January 23rd, 2022 at 7:57pm CST by JD Shaw

Nets sharpshooter Joe Harris has now missed 31 straight games due to an ankle injury, a process that head coach Steve Nash called “tricky,” Brian Lewis of the New York Post tweets. Asked if Harris has experienced setbacks during his rehab, Nash acknowledged the forward’s progress has been stop and start.

“Yeah, there’s been some awareness (of it) and irritation,” Nash said. “He’s been doing a tug-of-war between making progress and then having some irritation. It’s really a process that’s been tricky.”

Last season, Harris scored 14.1 points per game, shooting 47.5% from three-point range in his 69 contests. The Nets own the best record in the Eastern Conference (29-16) despite Harris only playing 14 of those games.

There’s more from the Eastern Conference tonight:

  • In a piece for The Charlotte Observer, Roderick Boone lists how several Hornets players have graded their seasons to date. Key players such as Terry Rozier, LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges all gave themselves assessments in the C range, suggesting they believe there’s plenty of room for improvement. On the season, Charlotte is 26-20, which includes a 13-6 home record and 13-14 road mark.
  • Bulls guards Zach LaVine (knee) and Javonte Green (adductor) are meeting their team in Oklahoma City, head coach Billy Donovan said, according to Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic (Twitter link). The Bulls will play the Thunder on Monday. LaVine could return for that game, Mayberry adds.
  • Nets center Nicolas Claxton hopes to return early next week, Brian Lewis of the New York Post relays (via Twitter). Claxton has been dealing with a left hamstring injury and won’t rush the return process, Lewis adds in a separate tweet. He’s only appeared in 20 of the team’s 45 games this season.
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