Month: November 2024

Devin Booker Unlikely To Play In Games 3, 4

April 20th, 2022 at 1:46pm CST by Luke Adams

1:46pm: The results of the MRI on Booker’s hamstring are still being evaluated, but for now it appears unlikely that he’ll be able to play in Games 3 and 4 in New Orleans, reports Adrian Wojnarowksi of ESPN (Twitter link).

Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter) that Booker’s right hamstring strain is believed to be relatively mild and he’s not being ruled out for the series.

The Suns have put out their own update, confirming that Booker has been diagnosed with a mild right hamstring strain and announcing there’s no timetable for his return.

7:07am: After scoring 31 points in the first half of the Suns‘ Game 2 loss to New Orleans on Tuesday, All-Star guard Devin Booker left the game in the third quarter due to a hamstring injury and didn’t return.

Booker, who was ruled out for the rest of the night with what the team referred to as right hamstring tightness, is expected to undergo testing and treatment on the injury today, writes ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. Head coach Monty Williams said after the game that the team expects to have “more information” on Wednesday.

As Windhorst notes, Booker missed seven games earlier this season due to a hamstring strain that affected his left leg. He also played through a hamstring injury during last year’s NBA Finals and has dealt with a few other hamstring issues over the years, though none have been too significant — this year’s seven-game absence was his longest stretch on the sidelines.

The top-seeded Suns, who went 8-6 this season without Booker, will still be favored over the Pelicans even without their leading scorer, but they don’t have a huge margin for error as they head to New Orleans with the series tied at one game apiece.

Williams told reporters after Tuesday’s game that the club would be ready to play without Booker in Game 3 on Friday if necessary.

“We’ve played without Chris (Paul) and Book before,” he said. “If we have to play without Book, next man up. We’ve done that all year long.”

Draft Notes: Cockburn, Bernard, McCormack, Green, Gibson

April 20th, 2022 at 12:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Illinois junior center Kofi Cockburn is once again entering his name in the NBA draft, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN. Because he previously tested the draft waters in 2020 and 2021, Cockburn won’t be permitted to withdraw from the draft this time around, so he’ll forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility.

“I’m 100% in now,” Cockburn told ESPN. “I’m not going back to college. I’m signing with agent Todd Ramasar. I’ve tested the waters enough, I’m 100% dedicated to going all the way.”

The No. 89 prospect on ESPN’s top-100 list, Cockburn was a consensus first-team All-American and was the only college player to average 20+ points and 10+ rebounds per game in 2021/22, says Givony.

The 22-year-old put up 20.9 PPG, 10.6 RPG, and 1.0 BPG in 28 appearances (30.7 MPG) for the Fighting Illini, but acknowledges that he’ll have to tweak his college game – which was heavy on back-to-the-basket, low-post scoring – to succeed in the NBA.

“The NBA values players like Steven Adams and Jonas Valanciunas — guys who set great screens, who know the pick and roll game, how to slip and seal, how to be a physical defender and rebounder who blocks shots,” Cockburn said. “My size can be a major advantage in the NBA. I don’t need the ball to be happy.”

Here are a few more updates on early entrants declaring for the 2022 NBA draft:

UCLA senior wing Jules Bernard will go through the draft process while maintaining his college eligibility, he announced on Instagram. Bernard, the Bruins’ third-leading scorer with 12.8 PPG in 2021/22, joins teammate Peyton Watson among UCLA players in the draft pool.
Kansas senior power forward David McCormack is entering the 2022 draft and appears prepared to go pro, forging his final year of NCAA eligibility, he announced on Instagram. After earning Big 12 Most Improved Player honors in 2021, McCormack had another strong season for the eventual champs, averaging 10.6 PPG and 7.0 RPG in 40 games (21.9 MPG).
Northern Iowa junior guard AJ Green has decided to enter the draft while maintaining his college eligibility and entering the transfer portal, he announced on Twitter. The two-time Player of the Year in the Missouri Valley Conference has averaged 19.4 PPG with a .390 3PT% in 65 contests (35.7 MPG) since the start of the 2019/20 season.
Oklahoma senior guard Umoja Gibson will test the draft waters, he announced on Twitter. Gibson, who has spent the last two years at Oklahoma after transferring from North Texas, averaged 13.3 PPG on .435/.390/.871 shooting in 35 games (32.1 MPG) in his senior year.

Hoops Rumors Glossary: Bird Rights

April 20th, 2022 at 11:05am CST by Luke Adams

The Bird exception, named after Larry Bird, is a rule included in the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement that allows teams to go over the salary cap to re-sign their own players. A player who qualifies for the Bird exception, formally referred to as a Qualifying Veteran Free Agent, is said to have “Bird rights.”

The most basic way for a player to earn Bird rights is to play for the same team for at least three seasons, either on a long-term deal or on separate one- or two-year contracts. Still, there are other criteria. A player retains his Bird rights in the following scenarios:

He changes teams via trade. For instance, the Pistons will hold Marvin Bagley III‘s Bird rights when he reaches free agency this offseason, despite just acquiring him in February. His Bird clock didn’t reset when he was traded from Sacramento to Detroit.
He finishes a third season with a team after having only signed for a partial season with the club in the first year. The Warriors signed Juan Toscano-Anderson midway through the 2019/20 season, adding him to their roster in February 2020. When his contract expires this offseason, Toscano-Anderson will have Bird rights despite not spending three full seasons with Golden State, because that half-season in ’19/20 started his Bird clock.
He signed for a full season in year one or two but the team waived him, he cleared waivers, and didn’t sign with another team before re-signing with the club and remaining under contract through a third season. This one’s a little confusing, but let’s use Toscano-Anderson as a case study once more. After he finished the 2019/20 season with the Warriors, Toscano-Anderson was waived by the team in December 2020. Because the Warriors re-signed him shortly after cutting him and he didn’t join a new team in the interim, the swingman’s Bird clock picked up where it left off once he was back under contract, so he’ll have full Bird rights this summer.

A player sees the clock on his Bird rights reset to zero in the following scenarios:

He changes teams via free agency.
He is waived and is not claimed on waivers (except as in scenario No. 3 above).
His rights are renounced by his team. However, as in scenario No. 3 above, a player’s Bird clock picks up where it left off if he re-signs with that team renounced without having signed with another NBA team. For example, Taj Gibson had Early Bird rights last offseason, then had those rights renounced by the Knicks as the team attempted to gain extra cap room. Since Gibson eventually signed a new deal with New York, he remains on track to secure full Bird rights this summer — that wouldn’t have been the case if he had signed with a new team.
He is selected in an expansion draft.

If a player who would have been in line for Bird rights at the end of the season is waived and claimed off waivers, he would retain only Early Bird rights.

Meanwhile, a player with Bird rights who re-signs with his previous team on a one-year contract (or a one-year deal with a second-year option) would lose his Bird rights if he’s traded. As such, he receives the ability to veto trades so he can avoid that scenario.

The Bird exception was designed to allow teams to keep their best players, even when those teams don’t have the cap room necessary to do so.

When a player earns Bird rights, he’s eligible to re-sign with his team for up to five years and for any price up to his maximum salary (with 8% annual raises) when he becomes a free agent, no matter how much cap space the team has — or doesn’t have. The maximum salary varies from player to player depending on how long he has been in the league, but regardless of the precise amount, a team can exceed the salary cap to re-sign a player with Bird rights.

A team with a Bird free agent is assigned a “free agent amount” – also called a cap hold – worth either 190% of his previous salary (for a player with a below-average salary) or 150% of his previous salary (for an above-average salary), up to the maximum salary amount. For players coming off rookie scale contracts, the amounts of those cap holds are 300% and 250%, respectively.

The Hornets, for instance, will have a cap hold worth $16,264,479 for Miles Bridges on their 2022/23 books — 300% of his $5,421,493 salary for ’21/22. Charlotte could renounce Bridges and generate an extra $16MM+ in cap flexibility, but the Hornets would then lose the ability to re-sign him using Bird rights, which would force them to use either cap room or a different cap exception to re-sign him. As such, we can count on Charlotte keeping Bridges’ cap hold on the books until his free agency is resolved.

Note: This is a Hoops Rumors Glossary entry. Our glossary posts will explain specific rules relating to trades, free agency, or other aspects of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ was used in the creation of this post.

Earlier versions of this post were published in previous years by Luke Adams and Chuck Myron.

Central Notes: G. Hill, Lopez, Pacers, Cunningham

April 20th, 2022 at 9:45am CST by Luke Adams

Bucks guard George Hill will remain sidelined for Game 2 of the team’s first-round series vs. Chicago on Wednesday due to an abdominal strain, tweets Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The injury, which Hill suffered on April 8, also kept him on the sidelines for Game 1 on Sunday.

As Owczarski relays, Bobby Portis (right calf bruise) and Jordan Nwora (back soreness) also showed up on the Bucks’ injury report for Game 2, but both are listed as probable and look like good bets to be active.

Here’s more from around the Central:

Bucks center Brook Lopez was limited to just 13 appearances during the regular season due to a back injury, but he’s healthy at the right time and looks like he has fresh legs, writes Steve Megargee of The Associated Press. The resurgence of Lopez, who scored 18 points in a season-high 32 minutes in Game 1 on Sunday, makes the Bucks more dangerous on both ends of the court and gives them a size advantage vs. Chicago, according to Megargee.
In his preview of the Pacers‘ offseason, ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) observes that the team must decide if it wants to continue rebuilding in 2022/23 or pivot back to competing for the playoffs. That decision will affect whether Indiana decides to retain or shop veterans like Malcolm Brogdon and Buddy Hield, Marks writes.
The three players selected immediately after Cade Cunningham in the 2021 draft look like future stars, but Cunningham’s second-half performance on the court and the leadership qualities he displayed off of the court show that the Pistons made the right call with the No. 1 pick, says Rod Beard of The Detroit News (subscriber link).

Warriors Notes: Poole, Curry, Starting Five

April 20th, 2022 at 8:21am CST by Luke Adams

Warriors forward Draymond Green and head coach Steve Kerr both expressed surprise this week when Jordan Poole wasn’t included among the three finalists for the Most Improved Player award.

As Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area writes, Kerr called Poole’s omission “shocking,” though he acknowledged that All-Star guards Ja Morant, Darius Garland, and Dejounte Murray are all “worthy candidates.” Green conveyed his disagreement in stronger terms, per Angelina Martin of NBC Sports Bay Area.

“If Jordan Poole isn’t the Most Improved Player, then the NBA really needs to relook at their process. Because you cannot find a guy on that list that has made a bigger improvement,” Green said. “I don’t care. If he’s not the Most Improved Player, then let’s rename the award to … who we like the most, who we see as more electrifying, to who we see may have a bigger impact on our team.

“That’s not the name of the award, that’s actually the Most Valuable Player, and so if we’re talking about the Most Improved Player, and if the award was voted on based upon its name, then it’s a no-brainer who’s the Most Improved Player.”

Here’s more on the Warriors:

Once Stephen Curry‘s protégé, Poole is turning into a legitimate co-star for the two-time MVP, writes Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. “He’s been watching Steph a lot,” Green said, “and he’s doing his best impression. And it is incredible.” President of basketball operations Bob Myers agreed with Green’s assessment: “Realistically, the engine is Curry. And now you’re seeing maybe twin engines. Which is fun.” Poole, who will be extension-eligible this offseason, has averaged 29.5 PPG on 65.5% shooting in the first two playoff games of his career.
Given how well Poole has played, the Warriors will have a tough lineup decision to make once Curry is ready to return to the starting five, writes Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Bay Area. If they want to start both Curry and Poole alongside Green and Klay Thompson, it would mean bringing either Andrew Wiggins or Kevon Looney off the bench.
Curry admitted after Game 2 on Monday that he’s still feeling some discomfort in his injured left foot, but said it “doesn’t matter,” adding that he’s committed to managing that discomfort through the playoffs (Twitter link via Kendra Andrews of ESPN).
In case you missed it, Warriors owner Joe Lacob discussed Poole’s emergence, Golden State’s championship hopes, and balancing the team’s veteran core with its young core, among other topics. Here are some of the highlights.

Cavaliers’ Altman Talks Season, Sexton, LeVert, Lottery Pick

April 19th, 2022 at 10:41pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Cavaliers‘ first winning season since 2018 ended in disappointing fashion with two play-in tournament losses. The club finished 2021/22 with a 44-38 record, the eighth best in the East, but was defeated by the Nets and Hawks in successive play-in contests after being hit with the injury bug. Another bright spot this year: two Cavaliers players, point guard Darius Garland and center Jarrett Allen, made their All-Star debuts.

On Tuesday, team president Koby Altman sat down with reporters for an extensive end-of-season press conference. Kelsey Russo of The Athletic captured Altman’s comments in an excellent article.

Altman discussed his feelings regarding a disappointing conclusion to what had been an exciting year for the Cavaliers. “I’m still a little heartsick, to be honest with you,” he admitted. “It’s hard to process the season ending the way it did and that we’re not still playing, but such a remarkable year for so many reasons. A long runway ahead of exciting basketball. So, we’re excited, really excited for the future obviously, and the work continues.”

Here’s more from Altman’s media session:

Guard Collin Sexton, a restricted free agent this summer, was enjoying a solid start to the year before being sidelined with a season-ending meniscus injury just 11 games into 2021/22. The emergence of Garland may have made Sexton a luxury for the Cavaliers, depending on his sticker price. “He, in a lot of ways, was the start of not only the rebuild, but the culture that we have in place now,” Altman said of Sexton. “To lose him [with the knee injury], you can see throughout the year why we missed him or how we missed him. So, we owe Collin a great debt of gratitude for what he’s done, the work he’s put in and he continues to put in. An important part of his team.”
Trade deadline addition Caris LeVert battled injuries during his brief tenure with Cleveland. The wing has one season left on his current deal, and could be extended by the Cavaliers. “Caris, he got unfortunately derailed right after All-Star break,” Altman said. “He was coming to a place that had enormous success already, that had roles, defined roles, guys that are having a lot of success, All-Star seasons. To try to fit in was not easy. It wouldn’t be easy for anybody. But I love what Caris brought to the table — his competitive fire, he defended; he fit right in.”
Because Cleveland missed the playoffs following its play-in losses, the club will retain the 2022 lottery pick it acquired in its trade for LeVert. “I think we’ve done an incredible job through the draft, and taking a step back now and looking at the [upcoming] draft, I like the draft,” Altman said. “I’m not just saying that. Where our pick lands, can we get another … there’s nothing wrong with having another young player that you can develop.” Russo adds that Cleveland also possesses two second-round selections.

Celtics Notes: Smart, Irving, Team Chemistry, Brown

April 19th, 2022 at 8:54pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Celtics point guard Marcus Smart reflected on Monday on his new 2022 Defensive Player of the Year hardware, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic.

Weiss notes that Smart is the first guard to win the award since SuperSonics guard Gary Payton earned it in 1996. Payton, who also played for the Celtics during the 2004/05 season, was present to celebrate Smart’s victory at a Monday practice.

“To be able to win this award, I’m ecstatic, it means a lot,” Smart said. “It shows that the hard work I’ve been putting in has finally paid off and the recognition has finally come.”

This season, with a defense led by Smart and center Robert Williams, the Celtics ranked first in opponent points allowed per game, with 104.5, and second in defensive rating, at 106.9 points permitted per 100 possessions.

Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston makes the case for why Smart was the right choice for the award, citing not just his defensive metrics but also his savvy actions that can’t quite be quantified, such as his impressive switching and layup contesting.

There’s more out of Boston:

Marcus Smart broke down his defensive matchup Sunday against former Celtics teammate Kyrie Irving with Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe. “All I was thinking about was, ‘OK, it’s just me and you Kyrie,” Smart said. “‘Here we go.’” Boston beat Irving’s Nets, 115-114, to take a 1-0 lead in the series. Though Irving had a stellar night in scoring 39 points on 12-of-20 shooting from the floor, Smart and his fellow Boston defenders pressured Irving to get rid of the ball and blanketed him in the paint during a decisive fourth quarter.
The Celtics appear to have taken significant leaps in team chemistry since their 4-1 first-round 2021 playoff loss to the Nets last season, writes Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Last year, star shooting guard Jaylen Brown was sidelined with a wrist fracture, while Robert Williams was playing through turf toe. “I think that’s one of the bigger progressions of our team, just when something breaks down,” All-Star forward Jayson Tatum said of the difference between that 2020/21 Boston club and this year’s model. “They go on a run, we have a couple slip-ups on defense. We care. It’s an emotional game. So it’s not going to be a quiet huddle, we got to talk it out. But the main thing is we figure it out right then and there. And we all on the same page and we come out of the huddle and move on to the next play.”
Celtics swingman Jaylen Brown dealt with nose bleeds after Game 1 on Sunday, telling reporters that it kept bleeding about every 45 minutes that night, per Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). “But that’s playoff basketball,” Brown said. “It’s survival of the fittest.” Brown took contact to the face multiple times throughout the game Sunday, but played through to finish with 23 points on 9-of-19 shooting from the floor.

Texas Notes: Brunson, Kleber, Rockets, Walker

April 19th, 2022 at 7:34pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Mavericks point guard Jalen Brunson, an unrestricted free agent this summer, scored a career-high 41 points during the Mavericks’ 110-104 Game 2 victory over the Jazz Monday night, as Tim MacMahon of ESPN writes. The win knots Dallas’ first-round series with Utah at 1-1.

Dallas explored a five-out offensive attack, capitalizing on a Jazz weakness (guarding the perimeter). Brunson’s performance proved critical for a Mavericks club missing its lone All-Star in Luka Doncic, still sidelined with a left calf strain.

“I know he’s dying to get out there soon, but he’s got to take his time,” Brunson said of his backcourt mate. “I know he’s doing everything in his power to not let his team down, but he has to make the decision that’s best for him. Not necessarily knowing where he is [in the recovery process], but I just know that he’s a competitor and he wants to be out there. We’re trying to hold it down for him.”

Following a breakout fourth season in Dallas and thanks to this playoff start, the market for Brunson should be robust this summer. He’s averaging 32.5 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 5.0 APG and 1.0 SPG across the first two games of the Utah series. For the regular season, Brunson registered averages of 16.3 PPG, 4.8 APG, and 3.9 APG, along with a shooting line of .502/.373/.840.

There’s more out of the Lone Star State:

Mavericks big man Maxi Kleber, dealing with a severe long-range shooting slump, seems to have righted the ship across his first two playoff games with Dallas this season, per Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. Kleber had been converting 18.8% of his three-point looks since returning from the All-Star break, but is now 10-of-16 from deep over the first two games of the Utah series. “Obviously it is a big boost, but even in the games before when I didn’t shoot well, I think overall I still did many things and we won as a team,” Kleber said. “It doesn’t matter if I get a hot day and make my shots or somebody else does. All we care about is getting the win. Obviously, it feels really good to make those shots because the end of the season wasn’t my prettiest.”
The rebuilding Rockets face a variety of roster choices during the 2022 offseason. Kelly Iko of The Athletic previews what could be an action-packed summer for Houston in a new piece. Iko examines the fits of expected high-lottery draft picks Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith, Paolo Banchero and Jaden Ivey; the future of $47.4MM man John Wall; potential extensions for Kevin Porter Jr. and Jae’Sean Tate, and more.
The Spurs face an interesting decision during the 2022 offseason, as fourth-year shooting guard Lonnie Walker IV is set to hit restricted free agency, writes Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. The 6’4″ wing has indicated that he is “hopeful” to sign a new deal with San Antonio. “Everyone talks about what I do for the community, but nobody talks about what the community does for us as players — the love and energy and everything they instill in us,” Walker said. “I embrace the fact the community embraced me. I’ve been having a hell of a time.” The 34-48 Spurs finished with the No. 10 seed and a play-in tournament appearance this season. In 70 games for San Antonio, Walker averaged a career-high 12.1 PPG and 2.2 APG, plus 2.6 RPG, in 23.0 MPG. He posted shooting splits of .407/.314/.784 this season.

Warriors’ Lacob Talks Playoffs, Poole, Young Core

April 19th, 2022 at 6:04pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors were forced to play without at least one of Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Stephen Curry for the majority of 2021/22, as the three veteran stars each dealt with injuries and shared the court for just 11 minutes during the regular season.

Through two playoff games, Thompson, Green, and Curry have spent 30 minutes playing together and the Warriors have posted a +45.9 net rating during those minutes. Up 2-0 over Denver and firing all cylinders, this version of the club is the one owner Joe Lacob has been waiting all season to see, he told Tim Kawakami of The Athletic.

“This is the team we paid for,” said Lacob, referring to the record-setting cost of the roster. “We never really had the team together all year. So I’m excited to see them all play together. We never really got to see it. I think it’s exciting to see it.”

Lacob acknowledged that it has only been two games and that he doesn’t want to rush to any judgments, especially without having played on the road at all yet. But based on what he has seen so far, he feels good about Golden State’s chances of making a deep playoff run.

“I think one would have to certainly look at what we’ve done in the first two games and say it looks pretty good,” Lacob told Kawakami.

Here’s more from the Warriors’ owner:

Lacob told Kawakami that he’s thrilled about the emergence of Jordan Poole, who has “arguably been our best player for a month and a half.” With the third-year guard eligible for a lucrative rookie scale extension this offseason, Kawakami asked Lacob just how far the Warriors are willing to extend their payroll to make sure they lock up Poole and keep their core intact. “I’m not going to talk about salary because it’s irrelevant right now,” he replied. “We’re in this year. After the year’s over we’re all evaluating where we are, and we’ll try to put the best team on the court we can for next year. And we’ll see what that is.”
Lacob admitted to Kawakami that he got a little nervous during the Warriors’ 1-7 slump near the end of the regular season, but said he was confident the team would be fine once it got healthy. “This isn’t baseball. This isn’t football. This isn’t 50 guys or 25 guys,” Lacob said. “One guy can make a huge difference. You add Steph Curry to what we were doing at the end of the year, it’s pretty good.”
Even as Curry, Thompson, and Green enter their mid-30s, the Warriors are well positioned to remain competitive for the foreseeable future due to a young core of Poole, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, and James Wiseman, all of whom are 22 or younger. Lacob said he’s pleased that the Warriors’ decision to focus on both the present and future appears to be paying dividends. “There are a couple teams, I’m not going to say who, there’s some other teams that went all-in on older players,” Lacob told Kawakami. “And older players do get injured. That’s the thing you have to remember. Suppose we had made a trade, traded away all our youth, for I don’t know, you name the guy, and they’re injured, out for the year. Anytime you’re over 30, 32, 35, these people get injured. It’s data.”

Injury Updates: Simmons, Barnes, Trent, Collins

April 19th, 2022 at 4:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Nets guard Ben Simmons, who continues to recover from a back issue, took contact for the first time on Monday and participated in a 4-on-4 scrimmage, head coach Steve Nash told reporters on Tuesday (link via Steve Popper of Newsday).

“Yesterday was his first day of contact, played with some teammates yesterday,” Nash said. “He’s making progress, but there’s no real update. We’ll just see how he responds and see if he’s able to do more contact tomorrow.”

It’s another positive update for Simmons after ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Shams Charania of The Athletic both referred to him on Monday as “pain-free,” per NetsDaily. The three-time All-Star has been ruled out for Game 2, but it remains possible that he could make his Nets debut later in the first round. A pair of reports last week indicated that Simmons was targeting a return between Games 4 and 6.

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

The Raptors have listed forward Scottie Barnes (ankle) as doubtful for Game 3 on Wednesday, while swingman Gary Trent Jr. (non-COVID illness) has been deemed questionable, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca.
Hawks big man John Collins is still experiencing pain in his finger and acknowledges he isn’t “at peak physical conditioning,” but he’s hoping to take on a bigger role in Game 2 after playing 21 minutes in his return on Sunday in Game 1, writes Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I feel like I’m as good as I can be right now,” Collins said. “Trying to take all the precautions and all the treatments. Only thing I can do. Obviously, I’m still in some pain. But I feel like everybody’s in some type of pain this time of year, at some point. Mine might be a little bit more than normal, but I’m still trying to do what I can.”
In case you missed it, there’s optimism that Mavericks star Luka Doncic will be able to return in Game 3 or Game 4 vs. Utah.

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