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Mobley, Garland, Hunter Ruled Out For Game 2

May 6th, 2025 at 5:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Evan Mobley, Darius Garland and De’Andre Hunter have all been ruled out for Game 2 of the Cavaliers’ second-round series against the Pacers, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com tweets.

It’s a huge dilemma for the top seed in the Eastern Conference as they try to avoid going 0-2 in the series on Tuesday.

Mobley sustained a sprained left ankle in Game 1. Garland will miss his fourth straight game due to a sprained big toe on his left foot that has nagged him since the end of the regular season. Hunter suffered a dislocated right thumb in the series opener.

During his pregame press conference, coach Kenny Atkinson didn’t confirm that the trio was out, but stated that he and his staff made preparations for all scenarios.

“We’ve got to be ready for plan A, B, and C,” Atkinson said. “We’ve got a great group. We’ve got great leadership. We’ve always responded. Great maturity, great professionalism, and this is part of what we figure things out as a group. These experiences make you better, make you stronger as a group and we obviously have to respond on the floor, but liked our approach leading up.”

Ty Jerome, Sam Merrill, Isaac Okoro and Dean Wade are some of the players who will have to step up with a pair of Cavs starters and a top reserve unavailable.

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Scotto’s Latest: Jerome, Caporn, Suns, NBAGL Elite Camp, Pelicans

May 6th, 2025 at 1:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Good health and the opportunity to play for newly minted Coach of the Year Kenny Atkinson were the key factors that fueled Ty Jerome‘s breakout 2024/25 season, the Cavaliers guard recently told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

“Kenny empowers me to be aggressive every time I step on the court and to play my game,” Jerome said. “I’ve got the ultimate green light. He trusts his guards to be yourself with unlimited confidence. When good players are playing with confidence, good stuff usually happens.”

After finishing third in Sixth Man of the Year voting, Jerome appears poised for a nice raise in free agency, but it remains to be seen whether the Cavaliers will be in position to give him that raise. Cleveland’s team salary is on the rise, with the club projected to operate well into second-apron territory even before accounting for a new deal for Jerome.

According to Scotto, that has rival executives wondering whether Jerome will leave Cleveland in free agency or whether the team might make a cost-cutting move elsewhere in order to bring back the standout reserve. For his part, the 27-year-old guard would prefer to stay where he is.

“I think I have an amazing situation here with a coaching staff that empowers me and a team that empowers me,” Jerome told Scotto. “… Everyone wants to see each other succeed and empower everyone. That’s really rare. When you have that in the NBA, you don’t want to take it for granted. Yes, people want to get paid for sure, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t, but when you have that, you don’t want to take it for granted.”

Here are a few more highlights from Scotto’s latest NBA rumor round-up:

  • Scotto adds Wizards assistant Adam Caporn to the list of head coaching candidates expected to receive consideration from the Suns as they seek a replacement for Mike Budenholzer. Caporn, who previously worked in Brooklyn as a G League head coach and NBA assistant, is also the new coach of Australia’s national team.
  • Real Madrid big man Eli Ndiaye has declined an opportunity to take part in the NBA’s G League Elite Camp this weekend, according to Scotto, who says Iowa wing Payton Sandfort and Kentucky guard Lamont Butler are among the prospects not included on the initial list of invitees who have since received and accepted invitations. Real Madrid’s season in the Spanish League isn’t yet over, which is likely why Ndiaye is passing on his invite.
  • According to Scotto, the Pelicans are hiring Jason Hervey, who previously worked under Joe Dumars in Detroit as a video coordinator and director of player development. Scotto doesn’t provide specifics on Hervey’s new position in New Orleans, but notes that he has worked as an advance scout, a personnel scout, and a quality control coach for various NBA organizations since leaving the Pistons.
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Cavs’ Garland, Mobley, Hunter Questionable For Game 2

May 5th, 2025 at 3:04pm CST by Rory Maher

Behind an impressive, balanced offensive attack and full-court defensive pressure, Indiana won its series opener in Cleveland against the top-seeded Cavaliers. As Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes (subscriber link), the big question now for the Cavs isn’t necessarily how they’ll respond in Game 2 — it’s who will be available.

Point guard Darius Garland appeared in a career-high 75 games this season, but he aggravated a sprained left big toe in Game 2 of Cleveland’s first-round series vs. Miami and has missed the past three games, including Sunday’s loss to the Pacers.

“I know it’s a tough one, especially being able to stop and start (on the toe),” head coach Kenny Atkinson said when asked about Garland’s injury. “But we don’t want him out there (at) 60 percent, 50 percent the way they pressure the ball. It just doesn’t make sense.”

While Jared Greenberg of TNT hears there’s no structural damage to Garland’s toe and there’s a chance he could suit up on Tuesday (Twitter link), the two-time All-Star continues to deal with “significant pain and swelling,” according to Fedor.

Garland’s absence in Game 1 caused a “trickle-down effect” on the rest of the roster, says Jason Lloyd of The Athletic, particularly Donovan Mitchell and Ty Jerome, who put up 30 and 20 shots, respectively — more than half (5o) of the team’s overall field goal attempts (98). The Cavaliers will be under real pressure to play Garland in Game 2 after losing homecourt advantage, according to Lloyd.

“I know he’s desperate to play,” Atkinson said after the loss. “We need his speed and shot-making.”

Garland isn’t the only noteworthy Cavalier whose status for Game 2 is uncertain. Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley tweaked his left ankle in the fourth quarter of Game 1 after landing on Myles Turner‘s foot, while forward De’Andre Hunter sustained a dislocated right thumb on a dunk attempt mere seconds later. Atkinson was miffed that neither play resulted in a foul on Indiana, per Jamal Collier of ESPN.

“I don’t think they were dirty plays, but I think it passed a line of physicality,” Atkinson said Monday. “That line we’ve kind of been talking about where it became excessive. I don’t think this is on Indiana; I have so much respect for how they play. But the fact of the matter, that’s on the referees. Maybe they weren’t missed calls, and maybe I’m misinterpreting the rules, but I have a problem when we got two of our best players doubtful for tomorrow’s game. It’s hard for me to get my head around that.”

According to Fedor, Atkinson referred to Mobley and Hunter as both questionable and doubtful during Monday’s media session. When asked to clarify, Atkinson said they’d be listed as questionable, but there’s “real concern” about their availability for Tuesday’s game. Garland will also be listed as questionable.

“We just did shootaround today, so it was tough to really gauge kind of where he is,” Atkinson said of Garland. “So yeah, he’ll be questionable, too, for tomorrow.”

For what it’s worth, Hunter told Fedor after Sunday’s loss that he’d be ready to go on Tuesday, but Mobley was a little more circumspect about whether or not he’d be healthy enough to suit up.

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Central Notes: Jerome, Schröder, Cunningham, Patton

April 22nd, 2025 at 5:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Ty Jerome, a Sixth Man of the Year award finalist, continues to pump up his value heading into unrestricted free agency. The Cavaliers guard poured in 28 points in 26 minutes during his first postseason game on Sunday.

“This is who Ty is. This is not a shock,” Donovan Mitchell said, per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. “I know everybody’s going to react like this is a shock that he’d been doing this for us all year.”

Jerome burst onto the scene after missing virtually all of last season due to an ankle injury.

“You get time to reflect on where you need to take the next step,” Jerome said, per The Athletic’s Joe Vardon. “Going into the offseason, your back’s kind of against the wall. You don’t play any games. I don’t really have a huge body of work in the NBA. And you kind of have one last shot, in a way, to make it right.”

We have more from the Central Division:

  • Dennis Schröder is proving to be one of the most valuable pickups at the trade deadline. Needing backcourt depth with Jaden Ivey sidelined, the Pistons traded for Schröder. The veteran point guard, who’s headed to free agency, delivered a 20-point performance in the Pistons’ Game 2 upset of the Knicks on Monday night. That included a clutch three-pointer to stave off New York’s late rally. “The ultimate trust,” Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of playing Schröder in crunch time, per The Athletic’s Hunter Patterson.
  • Cade Cunningham played up to his All-Star status with 33 points. The Pistons guard is eager to play postseason games in front of the home fans. He’ll get that opportunity in Game 3 on Thursday and Game 4 on Sunday.  “It feels good representing the city like we did (Monday),” Cunningham told John Niyo of the Detroit News. “It’s something that the city’s been waiting on for a long time, so we feel good about it and we’re ready to get back to the crib. … It’s gonna be a lot of fun. I’m excited to see it.”
  • The Bulls didn’t pick up their option on Peter Patton‘s contract, letting their director of player development go after two seasons. That was an unpopular decision among the players, Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune confirms. Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis improved their shooting under Patton’s tutelage and publicly praised him. Patton didn’t hold back his opinions on how the team could improve on and off the court and that didn’t always sit well with members of the team’s brass, Poe notes. The Chicago Sun-Times previously reported that Patton’s exit left some players “beyond pissed.”
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NBA Announces Finalists For 2024/25 Awards

April 20th, 2025 at 6:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Nuggets center Nikola Jokic are the three finalists for the league’s Most Valuable Player award this season, the league announced on Sunday (Twitter link).

While all three players put up monster numbers, Gilgeous-Alexander is generally considered the favorite to win the award due in large part to the Thunder’s team success this season. Oklahoma City won a league-high 68 regular season games, compared to 50 for Jokic’s Nuggets and 48 for Antetokounmpo’s Bucks.

The finalists for each award represent the top three vote-getters. The winners will be announced at a later date.

Here’s a rundown of the finalists for the major NBA awards voted on by media members:

Coach of the Year

  • Kenny Atkinson (Cavaliers)
  • J.B. Bickerstaff (Pistons)
  • Ime Udoka (Rockets)

Rookie of the Year

Sixth Man of the Year

Defensive Player of the Year

Most Improved Player

Clutch Player of the Year

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Central Notes: Jerome, Mitchell, Mathurin, Pistons

April 17th, 2025 at 7:01pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Two major injuries hindered important moments in Ty Jerome‘s career. A hip surgery prevented him from playing his senior year in high school, and he was limited to just 15 minutes with Cleveland last season before suffering a season-ending ankle injury.

As Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes, Jerome had previously parlayed an impressive Warriors season in 2022/23 into a multiyear deal with the Cavaliers. But Jerome was playing on a two-way contract in Golden State, meaning he was still getting his footing in the league at the time of last season’s injury.

“I was in a very dark place,” Jerome said. “I felt disconnected from the group. I felt alone. I was just kind of here by myself, going into the facility solely to rehab, and then back home to sit on the couch with no plan for how to get better and no real timeline for a return. I’m a hooper. It’s my only hobby. When I’m playing basketball, when I’m able to shoot and work out, I’m just a happier, healthier person.”

Jerome emerged from the situation as one of the Cavaliers’ most pivotal players. He’s averaging 12.5 points per game while shooting 51.6% from the floor and 43.9% from three this season. He went from not being considered as a Sixth Man of the Year candidate at the start of the season to emerging as a potential finalist for the award.

We have more from the Central Division:

  • Donovan Mitchell‘s scoring output has dipped this season, but his self-sacrifice this season made the Cavaliers contenders, Joe Vardon of The Athletic writes. “Unselfish MVP, that’s what I call it,” teammate Darius Garland said. Vardon notes that Mitchell’s minutes and shot volume are down as part of a designed and agreed-to plan that allowed Garland and other teammates to step up this season.
  • Bennedict Mathurin wasn’t able to play in the Pacers‘ run to the Eastern Conference Finals last season as he recovered from surgery on a torn labrum. As Dustin Dopirak of IndyStar writes, Mathurin remembers watching that run from the sidelines and is eager to help push the Pacers there again and beyond. “It’s huge,” teammate Aaron Nesmith said of having Mathurin back. “I’m excited to see him. He lives for moments like this. He’s a big-time shot taker, big-time shot-maker. He lives for big moments. His presence on the court, his presence at the end of games, throughout the course of the series will be huge for us.”
  • Ahead of their first-round playoff series, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post analyzes how the Pistons and Knicks helped build each other’s rosters through a series of trades and free agents swapping places. The Pistons acquired the draft rights to Jalen Duren from New York in a 2022 deal that sent the Knicks one of the first-rounders they later traded for Mikal Bridges. Meanwhile, after acquiring Quentin Grimes from the Knicks at the 2024 trade deadline, the Pistons flipped him to Dallas last offseason in a deal for Tim Hardaway Jr., who started 77 games this season.
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Central Notes: Pacers, Jerome, Holland, Bucks

April 11th, 2025 at 9:38am CST by Rory Maher

Led by star point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who finished with 23 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, the Pacers secured a top-four seed — and home-court advantage in the first round — in the Eastern Conference playoffs by defeating Cleveland on Thursday, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star.

After starting the season with a 10-15 record, the Pacers have gone 39-16 since December 8, the fourth-best mark in the league over that span, only trailing Oklahoma City, Cleveland and Boston. They’re currently on a six-game winning streak.

“It’s special for us knowing what we’ve been through to get here and how this started,” Haliburton said. “We’re a game away from having a 50-win season. That could be something because time is moving so fast that you just let happen and you move forward, but it’s a special year especially with how this started. … Early in the year it was just really a struggle. I’d be lying to you if I told you it was easy for me personally and all the things I was dealing with. For us to get here, honestly, I love the guys in our locker room, the coaching staff, how much those guys mean to me and all my loved ones because it was a tough time.”

As Dopirak notes, Indiana was fortunate in the sense that Cleveland was resting four starters after clinching the top seed in the East. But it was nonetheless an important victory for the Pacers, who still have a shot at the No. 3 seed — they’re one game behind the Knicks with two games remaining for both teams, though New York holds the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Forwards Aaron Nesmith (22 points, six rebounds) and Jarace Walker (15 points on 6-of-7 shooting in 15 minutes, including 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting in the final period) were among the other key contributors for Indiana, Dopirak adds.

Here are a few more notes from around the Central:

  • Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, bolstered his candidacy for the Sixth Man of the Year award with a big night on Thursday, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscriber link). Jerome was highly efficient, recording 24 points (on 9-of-16 shooting) and six assists, and the Cavs outscored Indiana by 13 points in his 26 minutes. He was rested for the entire fourth quarter.
  • No. 5 overall pick Ron Holland played 11 of his 22 minutes in the fourth quarter during Thursday’s victory over New York, recording 10 points (on 5-of-6 shooting), three rebounds and a block in the final frame. After the game, Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff discussed why he turned to the 19-year-old down the stretch (Twitter link via Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press). “He’s earned it, that’s what it says … we fell back on believing in Ron because that’s what we do,” Bickerstaff said. “Ron fell back to the time and hours he’s put in … that’s allowed him to be successful.”
  • Milwaukee pulled most of its rotation mainstays early during Thursday’s blowout win vs. New Orleans, tweets Eric Nehm of The Athletic. The Bucks can clinch the East’s No. 5 seed if they defeat Detroit on Friday — it’s the second end of a back-to-back for both clubs.
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Donovan Mitchell Returns To Game After Injury Scare

April 7th, 2025 at 8:52am CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers missed a chance to clinch the best record in the East on Sunday night, but they’re relieved that Donovan Mitchell‘s left ankle injury wasn’t as bad as it first appeared to be, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic.

Mitchell turned the ankle early in the third quarter of a loss to Sacramento when he stepped on the back on Keon Ellis‘s foot. He fell to the court in obvious pain, but was eventually able to walk to the locker room without help. After having it examined, he returned with 3:01 left in the quarter and played the rest of the game.

“I wanted to get the No. 1 seed and then go from there,” Mitchell told reporters in explaining his decision to resume playing. “If I’m able to go, I’m gonna go. Obviously, a little hobbled after the first adrenaline rush … but I’m trying to win, trying to help my team win in any way possible.”

Vardon adds that Mitchell was limping in the locker room after the game and may have to miss Tuesday’s contest at Chicago. The Cavaliers will play Thursday at Indiana and Friday at New York before returning home Sunday to face the Pacers again. They need just one win or one Boston loss to wrap up the No. 1 seed, so there’s little urgency to get Mitchell back in the lineup until he’s fully healed.

Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson admits he feared the worst when he saw his star player writhing on the court, Vardon states. His message to Mitchell was to make certain he wasn’t taking an unnecessary risk by returning.

“‘If it’s even five percent where you’re a little weak or it’s bothering you, you just got to tell me,” he told Mitchell. We gotta get you out, we’ve got multiple games to try and close this thing, but we don’t have to do it tonight.’ He said he was fine, felt fine. I look at it as a positive. Imagine his ankle is bad, he’s out for a couple of weeks, that could easily happen. So I am looking at it like a positive, man. He came back, finished playing the whole fourth quarter, so that might be the most positive thing of the night.”

Also Sunday, the Cavs welcomed back sixth man Ty Jerome, who had missed the previous five games with soreness in his left knee. Jerome contributed 20 points in 23 minutes, including 10 in the fourth quarter when Cleveland erased a 12-point deficit.

Jerome said he sat out to “let (his knee) calm down a little bit, let the swelling go down,” but he never lost confidence that he could return before the end of the regular season.

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And-Ones: Rebuilding Teams, Free Agency, Flagg, NBL

March 21st, 2025 at 9:44pm CST by Luke Adams

Among 11 NBA teams in various stages of their respective rebuilds, the Spurs are best positioned for the long run, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Insider link). San Antonio’s place atop the rankings has a lot to do with the presence of Victor Wembanyama on the roster, but Bontemps points to Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, and recently acquired point guard De’Aaron Fox as other likely core pieces for the Spurs, who could end up with two more lottery picks this spring.

Interestingly, Bontemps places the Hornets and Wizards at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, on his rebuild rankings, praising Charlotte in particular for its promising collection of young talent. The Trail Blazers and Bulls come in at 10th and 11th on Bontemps’ list, largely because there are questions about whether either team has a franchise player to build around and whether they’ll be in position to land one in the draft anytime soon.

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

  • John Hollinger of The Athletic highlights several of the challenging situations that teams will face in free agency this summer, including the Cavaliers with Ty Jerome, the Nuggets with Russell Westbrook, the Kings with Jake LaRavia, and the Sixers with Quentin Grimes and Guerschon Yabusele. Many of those clubs will be limited in what they can offer their free agents, either due to a lack of full Bird rights or tax/apron concerns.
  • Meanwhile, Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link) looks ahead to 2026 and explains why next year’s star-studded free agent class will likely be something of a mirage, given all the contract extensions likely to be signed between now and then.
  • ESPN draft experts Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo (Insider link) spoke to 10 NBA executives about projected No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg, surveying those execs on the Duke freshman’s strengths and weaknesses, his odds of winning a title with the Blue Devils, and whether there’s any chance he decides to stay in school for another year. “I can’t remember a No. 1 pick deciding to go back to school,” one Eastern Conference scout told ESPN.
  • Ahead of the NBA playing its first games in Australia this fall, a battle over the ownership of the country’s National Basketball League appears to be brewing. Olgun Uluc of ESPN Australia has the story.
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Central Notes: Dosunmu, Walker, Jerome, Pistons

March 5th, 2025 at 3:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu, who was scheduled to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery on Wednesday, said on Tuesday that he’s still not sure when the initial injury – a fracture along the back side of his left shoulder – occurred, according to Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune.

“It is kind of bizarre just knowing that there was a fracture there,” Dosunmu said. “It was something that I played on — and I think I could have continued to play on. But I don’t know, for whatever reason the last time (he aggravated the injury), it probably knocked it out in a different way, because it was a different pain than I previously felt.”

Dosunmu will be entering the final year of his current contract in 2025/26 as he comes back from his procedure on his shoulder. As Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times observes, that would be a stressful situation for many NBA players, but the Bulls guard welcomes the challenge of returning from this injury, having a big contract year, and helping the team take a step forward.

“I thrive in situations like that,” Dosunmu said. “I thrive in adversity, proving people wrong, wherever the doubters may be. . . . I’m excited for the rehab process. Like I said, taking it one day at a time. Just looking at it as a blessing in disguise.”

Here’s more from around the Central:

  • Pacers forward Jarace Walker, who hasn’t been part of the rotation for the past month, continues to handle his demotion admirably, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. As Dopirak details, the former eighth overall pick hadn’t been assigned to the G League all season before this week, but welcomed the opportunity to suit up for the Indiana Mad Ants and see legitimate game action on Monday. “I’m not gonna lie, I was excited,” said Walker, who ended up posting a triple-double (20 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists) for the Pacers’ G League affiliate. “Any time I can work on my game, hoop, have fun, still be with the guys, it’s a good experience for me. I had a great time. It was kind of a no-brainer.”
  • In a subscriber-only story for Cleveland.com, Chris Fedor considers whether the Cavaliers can – and will – re-sign Ty Jerome when he reaches free agency this summer following a breakout season. As Fedor writes, the Cavs are headed into apron territory next season, but will have the ability to make Jerome a competitive offer using his Early Bird rights if they’re comfortable further increasing their team salary.
  • The Pistons‘ decision to bring in Tobias Harris and Tim Hardaway Jr. as veteran leaders last summer has paid major dividends. Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press takes a closer look at the positive impact the “Uncle T’s” have had in Detroit’s locker room this season.
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