Hoops Rumors’ weekly live chat is back for the 2021/22 season! It will take place on Tuesday afternoons at noon central time, beginning today.
Click here for today’s chat transcript.
Be sure to join us next Tuesday with your questions on the early-season results, trade possibilities, 2022 free agents, the salary cap, the Collective Bargaining Agreement, or any other NBA-related topics.
Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, who has missed three games since spraining his left knee and ankle last week, appeared to be on the verge of a return to the court as he went through practice on Monday. However, as Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News writes, the team hasn’t provided an update since Doncic shouted in pain and came off the court holding his knee near the end of Monday’s practice.
Doncic may have just suffered a brief scare that won’t affect his ability to return to action as soon as tonight — he’s still listed as questionable for Tuesday’s game vs. the Clippers. However, it’s also possible that the Mavericks will decide to hold him out for another game or two after he seemingly aggravated his injury on Monday.
As we wait for an update on Doncic, here’s more from around the Western Conference:
In his early look at 2022’s top free agents, John Hollinger of The Athletic ranks Bulls guard Zach LaVine as the No. 1 player in next year’s class, ahead of stars like Wizards guard Bradley Beal and Nets guard James Harden. As Hollinger explains, LaVine will be just 27 years old when he reaches free agency, which means his next contract is a good bet to cover his prime years. Beal will be 29 and Harden will be entering his age-33 season, so the final seasons of long-term deals would be a little riskier in those cases — especially for Harden.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
Bucks forward Semi Ojeleye, whose season debut last month was delayed by a left calf strain, has now sustained an injury in his right calf and will be sidelined again, the team announced in a press release.
According to the Bucks, an MRI confirmed that the injury Ojeleye suffered on Friday vs. Oklahoma City is a strained right calf. He’ll remain on the shelf for at least three weeks before he’s reevaluated.
Ojeleye, who turns 27 in December, has struggled with his shot in his first 11 games in Milwaukee, making just 25.5% of his attempts from the field, including 21.4% of his threes. However, he has been a regular rotation player for the team, providing solid defense in 19.8 minutes per contest.
Even if Ojeleye is cleared to return three weeks from today, he’ll miss the Bucks’ next 11 games. While he’s unavailable, Thanasis Antetokounmpo and Jordan Nwora are among the reserve forwards who could see an increase in playing time. Center Brook Lopez may also be ready to return from his back injury during Ojeleye’s absence, further solidifying the team’s frontcourt.
Draymond Green is playing with renewed vigor and the Warriors forward is aiming for another Defensive Player of the Year award, ESPN’s Nick Friedell writes. “Most importantly, I want to win, I want to be a Defensive Player of the Year again, and I want to be an All-Star again,” Green said. “And that is motivating me because a lot of people had counted me out. Same mistake people made before when I first came into the league — but a lot of people doubted me, and doubted me again. And that’s fuel to the fire.” Green won the DPOY award in 2017.
We have more from the Pacific Division:
Kyle Lowry chose the Heat in free agency because they felt he “could move the needle” for them in pursuit of a championship, he told Marc Spears of The Undefeated.
The Heat worked out a sign-and-trade with the Raptors in which Lowry received a three year deal worth approximately $85MM.
“This is my first year here, but it was the situation where I feel like they wanted to move the needle,” Lowry said. “They wanted to find a way to move the needle and no matter what my age is, I’m still able to move the needle. I’m still playing at a high level. My job is to make everybody else better, to make our team better.”
Thus far, Lowry is averaging 12.0 PPG and 7.6 APG in his first season with Miami.
Lowry offered up some other insights and revelations in his interview with Spears:
The Spurs held a players-only meeting in the locker room after last Thursday’s 25-point loss to the Timberwolves, forward Thaddeus Young informed Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News. “We took that butt whooping and we went back into the locker room and we talked for 20, 30 minutes, the whole team,” Young said. “Everyone voiced their issues and their points.”
Second-year lottery pick Devin Vassell was among those who spoke most eloquently.
“He basically said, ‘Come on. Let’s try to figure this thing out. Let’s talk about it. Let’s put everything out there on the table,'” Young said.
Young viewed that as a positive sign for the team building around young players.
“That’s what you want from young guys. I could do it, but at the end of the day, you want these younger guys to start stepping up,” Young said (Twitter links here).
San Antonio had the weekend off and will face Phoenix on Monday.
We have more on the Spurs:
Kevin Durant rested his right shoulder sprain during the Nets’ win over Orlando on Friday and it apparently made a difference, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Durant returned to practice on Sunday and returned to action against Cleveland on Monday.
“Kevin is great. I think it served his shoulder well to miss a game,” coach Steve Nash said.
Durant is off to a strong start, averaging 28.6 PPG, 7.9 RPG and 4.9 APG in 16 games.
We have more on the New York City teams:
Lakers superstar LeBron James was suspended one game without pay and Pistons center Isaiah Stewart will serve a two-game suspension for their altercation on Sunday, the league announced in a press release.
James was suspended for recklessly hitting Stewart in the face and initiating an on-court altercation. Stewart was given a bigger penalty for escalating the incident by repeatedly and aggressively pursuing James in an unsportsmanlike manner.
Stewart had to be restrained numerous times by coaches and players from retaliating after James struck him in the face battling for position as Jerami Grant attempted a free throw. Pistons coach Dwane Casey stated afterward he didn’t feel Stewart deserved an additional penalty besides the in-game ejection.
James, who has never previously been suspended his career, will miss a marquee matchup against the Knicks on Tuesday. Stewart will serve his suspension Tuesday against the Heat and Wednesday against the Bucks.
Second-year guard Killian Hayes is expected to miss at least the next two games as the Pistons‘ medical staff attempts to alleviate the soreness in his sprained left thumb and increase its mobility, the team announced today.
As Keith Langlois of Pistons.com notes (via Twitter), the injury has been an ongoing problem for Hayes, who first sat out on November 5 due to the ailment. He had mostly been playing through the injury up until Sunday, but has aggravated it several times, Langlois adds.
Here are a few more health updates from around the NBA: