R.J. Hampton is showing progress from the MCL sprain that has sidelined the Magic guard since January 19th, Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel writes.
Hampton said in an Instagram post he’ll be back to action soon, though he still has to ramp up his activity, according to coach Jamahl Mosley. Hampton. a 2020 first-round pick, has averaged 7.2 PPG and 2.4 APG in 42 appearances this season.
“He’s on the court doing a little bit of contact with our coaches, going through some rehab work and continuing to see how he responds to it,” Mosley said. “He’s slowly going against coaches right now and some conditioning as well.”
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- Though Bradley Beal is sidelined, the Wizards have been playing better since the trade deadline, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington notes. Kyle Kuzma believes players are settling into roles now that the fear of getting traded has passed. “I think we’re great chemistry-wise,” he said. “I think we’ve got a pretty good understanding of roles right now on the team. Everybody’s gelling, fitting in. Everybody’s just doing what they’re supposed to do.”
- Kristaps Porzingis‘ Wizards debut is likely to happen next Friday (February 25) against San Antonio, Hughes tweets. “I anticipate he will, but once again we’ll just have to see,” coach Wes Unseld Jr. said of Porzingis, who was acquired from Dallas at the trade deadline.
- The Hawks are 10th in the East and below .500 after making it to the Eastern Conference Finals last season. Center Clint Capela said to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic it’s a product of unexpected success for a young team. “Our approach the entire season, we were already thinking we were going to the playoffs,” Capela said. “Our approach wasn’t about the next game; it was, ‘Oh, we won this. We won that.’ That’s the problem with teams that are not used to this. I’m not so shocked.”
I feel like it should be sorta obvious to anybody that’s paying attention that the Hawks are gonna make another deep run this postseason if they’re reasonably healthy. I thought the same thing last season & this is apparently the sequel. Capela himself is a main reason the Hawks have been do uneven up to this point. He was much more consistent, active, impactful last season. Lately he’s been playing at/near the same level as last season on a more consistent basis. Teams have been targeting Trae & Kev more on defense this season compared to last season
Hawks had a flukey run last season, if Ben Simmons doesn’t fold the Sixers likely win that series. They look much worse this year, not sure what gives you so much confidence they’re in for another “deep run”. Capela has been awful lately, and is losing minutes to Okongwu. You must be watching a different sport.
It was not flukey at all. They spent money and were one of the deepest rosters in the East. Not every player was a superstar, but they had plenty of talent and lots of chemistry (especially come playoff time). Tre’s confidence alone has them in it.
Sleep on them if you want; you can dream about being correct.