Mavericks center Kristaps Porzingis has been upgraded to probable for tonight’s game against the Clippers, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. He had been listed as questionable with irritation in his right knee, similar to the condition that forced him to miss 10 games in December and January, adds Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). The ACL tear Porzingis suffered in 2018 was in his left knee.
Dallas may need a huge effort from Porzingis to even up the playoff series. He posted 14 points and six rebounds before being ejected early in the third quarter of Game 1, which may have been the turning point in L.A.’s victory.
There’s more injury news to pass along:
- Clippers guard Patrick Beverley is listed as questionable for tonight with a left calf strain that forced him to miss the final five seeding games, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN (Twitter link). Beverley was able to play 20 minutes in the series opener, but was limited by foul trouble.
- The Pacers have “no immediate concerns” about guard Victor Oladipo, who was poked in the eye during Monday’s game, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN. Oladipo played just 8:34 in the loss, as the injury happened in the first quarter and coach Nate McMillan never considered putting him back in the game. “It wasn’t an option,” McMillan said. “His vision was really blurry, really couldn’t see out of his eye when we spoke to him at halftime, and he was going to get that checked out.” Oladipo, who is listed as day to day, was able to participate in today’s walkthrough (Twitter link from Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel).
- The Celtics are listing Jaylen Brown as probable for today’s game with a right thigh bruise, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Brown suffered the injury in a collision with Sixers center Joel Embiid in the second half of Game 1 and was able to remain in the game.
- Rockets guard Russell Westbrook continues to make progress in recovering from a strained quardriceps muscle, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle, but coach Mike D’Antoni said he’s still not cleared to take the court and there’s no timetable for him to return. “I don’t know how long it’s going to take,” D’Antoni said. “It’s going to take a little bit. He’s working hard and he’s feeling better every day. The images are looking better. But I think it’s too early to say how many days he’s out. I don’t think anybody knows.”
KP is banged up ??? Waaaaa he hardly played. Man it’s a shame this guy with injuries. Hope he gets it together.
Dort is still out as tomorrow, which helps to offset the absence of Westbrook for the Rockets. The defense for OKC could really use Dort to help slow Harden.
Dort played after all, but it made no difference in the outcome of the game. After another Rockets win all of the people who thought it would be the most contested first round series have their silence yet again drowned out by the sound of crickets in the air.
And for those who are convinced that the trade for Covington was simply a salary dump, consider the Rockets’ record before they sent Capela to Atlanta. In the 39 games that he was healthy enough to play they went just 22-17, but in the games that he missed they were 10-1.
The spacing on offense just wasn’t there with Capela, and now they basically have Westbrook at an unconventional point-center position while his teammates stay outside the arc to keep the paint clear so he can drive the lane.