- Though the Celtics anticipated that rookie first-round draft pick Aaron Nesmith could be an instant contributor as a shooter, he has made more of an impact with his hustle on both ends of the floor. A. Sherrod Blakely of the Boston Sports Journal examines the disparity between Nesmith’s anticipated skill set at the next level and the reality thus far. “I’m happy for him because it seems he has found a role with those guys now,” an Eastern Conference scout said. “It’s not the role we thought it would be or the role the Celtics thought it would be, but give him credit, he’s figured out a way to get on the floor which is huge for a rookie.”
The Mavericks will hold center Kristaps Porzingis out of both games this weekend as he deals with pain in his right knee, tweets Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. “He’s going to rehab and work out,” coach Rick Carlisle told reporters. “He’s doing better than he was two nights ago in Detroit. Things are moving in a good direction.”
Porzingis was also dealing with a sprained left ankle last week, so Thursday’s game against the Pistons marked the only time he has played since April 22. Carlisle said he had no other specifics to offer and no timetable beyond this weekend. He added that Porzingis is “very diligent” about rehab work.
There’s more injury news from around the league:
- The Pelicans aren’t sure if guard Josh Hart will be able to return before the end of the regular season, according to Jim Eichenhofer (Twitter link). Hart had surgery April 6 to fix a torn UCL in his right thumb. “We knew going in that his timetable to get back (in uniform) would be the last week to 10 days (of the regular season), coach Stan Van Gundy said. “We’ll have to wait and see as we get later into next week.”
- Pelicans center Steven Adams suffered a sprained toe this week, but Van Gundy said it’s a day-to-day issue and Adams should be available for the rest of the season (Twitter link from Andrew Lopez of ESPN).
- Hornets forward Gordon Hayward no longer needs a walking boot for his sprained right foot, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.
- Celtics guard Kemba Walker is listed as doubtful for Sunday with a strain in his left side, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter link). It would be the fourth straight missed game for Walker.
- Cavaliers center Isaiah Hartenstein was able to work out at the arena tonight for the first time since entering concussion protocol, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). Hartenstein has missed the past four games.
- Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter, who has been out since March 23 with a knee injury, hasn’t been able to work out for several days, tweets Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. Coach Nate McMillan said he has no idea if Hunter will be able to play again this season.
- Clippers guard Patrick Beverley may be able to return in the “next couple games” if his left hand continues to improve, coach Tyronn Lue told Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
The NBA has suspended Celtics guard Marcus Smart for one game for “directing threatening language toward a game official,” tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Smart’s actions took place during and after Tuesday’s loss to the Thunder, Charania adds (via Twitter), with Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald noting that Smart was whistled for a technical foul with 7:48 left to play (Twitter link). Smart will serve the suspension in tonight’s game against the Hornets.
Missing a game without pay will cost Smart $89K, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link).
Tom Thibodeau joined the Knicks this past offseason with a strong reputation despite unceremonious exits during his last two stops with the Bulls and Timberwolves, and has helped New York exceed expectations, putting the club on the cusp of a postseason appearance.
One player who has been with Thibodeau for a while is Derrick Rose, who enjoyed his best years with Thibs in Chicago, joined him briefly in Minnesota, and is now a key depth piece for the Knicks. In Rose’s view, Thibodeau, a top contender for Coach of the Year, has only improved, Zach Braziller of the New York Post writes.
“It shows that he’s improved as a coach. He’s already a great coach, but every year he’s improving and adjusting,” Rose said. “That’s the big difference that I see with him this year. He’s giving guys more freedom to go out there and play the way they want. He’s being positive on the court.”
The Knicks own a record of 33-27 record entering play Saturday, good for fourth in the Eastern Conference.
Check out more Atlantic Division notes:
- Year after year, the Knicks seemingly found new ways to become a laughingstock of the NBA through poor hires, questionable signings and head-scratching trades. This season, however, the club has played well behind some shrewd acquisitions and the hiring of a good coach, and is trending in the right direction, Yahoo Sports’ Vincent Goodwill writes.
- The Nets believe Kevin Durant is close to returning but it’s unclear when that will happen, according to head coach Steve Nash. “I think he’s close, but I don’t think he’s there,” Nash said, per NetsDaily. “We’ll see tomorrow and Sunday if that’s a possibility. But it may not. It may bleed back into this road trip.” Nash added that guard Tyler Johnson, who has missed 10 straight games, is close to a return too.
- The Nets are also currently without recent signee Alize Johnson as he is sidelined due to health and safety protocols, per ESPN’s Malika Andrews (Twitter link). Brooklyn recently inked Johnson to a multiyear deal after he signed a pair of 10-day deals.
- Celtics trade deadline acquisition Evan Fournier returned to the court on Friday in Brooklyn after missing nine games due to COVID-19. Fournier detailed his symptoms and noted he needs time to ramp up back into shape, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps writes. “My experience — where do I start? The first two days I was doing great, no symptoms at all, and then flu-like symptoms, high fever, really tired, fatigue, all that,” Fournier said. “I honestly stayed in bed and slept for four or five days. The roughest part was ramping up the activity. The last two days of practice was really hard. I had moments where I was doing good and moments where I was exhausted.”
Coming off a nice win over Phoenix on Thursday, the Celtics are set to play the Nets in Brooklyn on Friday, and both teams are a little banged up.
Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said during a radio appearance on Toucher and Rich on Thursday that Jaylen Brown, who is dealing with shoulder bursitis, is sore, but should be good to go “in the next few days” (Twitter link via Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston).
Meanwhile, Evan Fournier (health and safety protocols) is going through a ramping-up process and could return to game action as soon as this weekend, per Ainge. The Celtics’ president also said that Robert Williams (knee) is “not too far away.”
Nets star Kevin Durant, who has missed two games with a left thigh contusion, is listed as questionable on the club’s latest injury report and could be available to play on Friday vs. the Celtics, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. If not tonight, Durant looks like a good bet to be back on Sunday against Phoenix.
Having already said in March that he had no intention of leaving Boston for the Hoosiers, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens addressed an Adrian Wojnarowski report that stated Indiana University was willing to offer him $70MM over seven years to become the program’s head coach.
“I was never offered a package. That’s all news to me. Secondly, I wasn’t going to leave anyways,” Stevens said, per Kyle Hightower of The Associated Press. “I was never offered that. I don’t know where that came from.”
While Stevens’ comments read like a dismissal of Wojnarowski’s report, it’s worth noting that there’s not actually any contradiction between what Stevens and Woj are saying. Wojnarowski reported that Indiana was “prepared” to make that seven-year offer to the Celtics’ coach, but if the Hoosiers got word that Stevens wasn’t interested in the job, it makes sense that the offer was never formally submitted.
Here’s more from around the East:
- As the Pacers near the end of what has been a disappointing season, J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star (subscription required) looks ahead to some big questions the team will have to answer in the offseason, including potentially finally deciding to trade one of Myles Turner or Domantas Sabonis.
- The Heat now have the ability to sign a 15th player to a rest-of-season contract while staying below the luxury tax threshold. With that in mind, Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald considers some of the team’s options, whether it’s a veteran, a developmental player, or a promotion for one of Miami’s current two-way players.
- The Raptors are stuck in an odd spot, caught between tanking and competing for the final play-in spot in the East, as Blake Murphy of The Athletic writes. The team appeared prepared to throw in the towel, having sat a handful of veteran players within the last week or two. But if tanking is the goal, the Raps aren’t having much luck so far, writes Dave Feschuk of The Toronto Star. Toronto has won three games in a row and is just a half-game back of Chicago for the No. 10 seed.
- Doug Smith of The Toronto Star explains that the Raptors received their $25K fine from the NBA over the weekend because they said Kyle Lowry and OG Anunoby would miss Friday’s game for “rest” purposes, but head coach Nick Nurse said they were bothered by foot and knee issues, respectively. Those ailments weren’t noted on the injury report at all prior to Friday’s game.
The Cavaliers are playing important games late into the season again for the first time in years, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
At 20-37, the Cavaliers are 3.5 games behind the Bulls for the tenth seed in the East. Should Cleveland make up that ground, the team would qualify for the play-in tournament this season. This would be the Cavs’ first postseason berth since making the NBA Finals in 2018.
“We have guys who have not, I want this to come across the right way, but have not played meaningful games down the stretch in an NBA season,” Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “Obviously we have our group of guys who have played in the playoffs and those types of things, but we have young guys who haven’t experienced meaningful games at the end of a season.”
“We’re all in this cluster,” guard Darius Garland said of the competition among the Cavaliers, Bulls, Raptors and Wizards for the final play-in spot. “Every game matters right now. They’re in the cluster with us… They’ve got the 10th seed right now, they’ve got the target on their back.”
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- The Pistons have played their hand as they focus on the future, opting to start their young players, writes Rod Beard of the Detroit News (subscription required). At 18-40, Detroit holds the worst record in the East by a half-game.
- James L. Edwards of The Athletic assesses the most exciting prospects on a developing Pistons roster, starting with a trio of rookies led by 22-year-old forward Saddiq Bey. The No. 19 pick in the 2020 draft out of Villanova tops the list thanks to his floor as a three-point-shooting wing capable of defending multiple positions.
- New Bulls starting power forward Daniel Theis concedes that he was surprised to be traded by the Celtics to Chicago, according to Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago. “(The deal) definitely caught me off guard,” Theis confirmed. Currently on an expiring $5MM deal, the big man will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
In a conversation with Sam Amick of The Athletic, Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon spoke about how he impressed he has been with Nikola Jokic during his first few weeks in Denver, and said his team still has championship aspirations this season, even with Jamal Murray unavailable for the postseason.
Additionally, acknowledging rumors that the Celtics tried hard to acquire him at last month’s deadline, Gordon said he would’ve enjoyed playing in Boston, but stated that he views the Nuggets as an ideal fit for his skill set.
“Obviously Boston has those guys with (Jayson) Tatum and (Jaylen) Brown, and they would have been hell of fun to play with,” Gordon told Amick. “But I feel like Denver was just the best fit to showcase my well-roundedness as a ballplayer, the defensive aspect and the offensive (aspect) — basically just (the) glue that I can bring. The guy who can fill in, do a little bit of everything on the offensive end and then lock up the other team’s best player, or at least make their night hard, make it a frustrating night for them.”
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson is considered the frontrunner for this year’s Sixth Man of the Year award, but he tells Mark Medina of USA Today that his “main goal” is trying to win games and to win a title — but he’d be honored to win the award. “If the Sixth Man of the Year award comes and I don’t get it, I don’t need the validation because my teammates, coaching staff and a lot of my peers gave me that,” Clarkson said. “They’re telling me, ‘I respect what you do’ and all of that. So, I know that goes a long way as well. But it’s definitely something I want to get accomplished one of these years. Hopefully it’s this year.”
- Thunder wing Luguentz Dort expressed interest in representing Team Canada in the Olympic qualifiers this summer, tweets Steven Loung of Sportsnet. While Dort said he was willing to “try out” for the team, it’s a safe bet that Team Canada would welcome him onto the roster if he wants a spot.
- As we wait for Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor to work out a sale agreement with potential new owners Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore, Lee Schafter of The Star Tribune explains why he thinks Taylor’s pledge to keep the team in Minnesota should be successful, while Chris Hine of The Star Tribune looks at the roadblocks that would be in the way of the new ownership group attempted a move.
- While the plan is for Rodriguez and Lore to begin as limited partners before they eventually assume majority control of the Timberwolves, sources told Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic last week that the new owners will still have a “significant influence” on the team’s basketball and business operations right away. Krawczynski also heard that the Wolves’ financial situation isn’t in bad shape, signaling that the NBA remains viable in the market.
Jabari Parker looked comfortable Saturday night in his new role with the Celtics, writes Sean T. McGuire of NESN. Playing in his first game since joining the team, Parker scored 11 points in 16 minutes and was on the court for several crucial possessions in a win over the Warriors.
The output was more than he scored all season with the Kings before being waived last month. The second overall pick in the 2014 draft, Parker is only 26 and now has an opportunity to establish himself as a scorer off the bench in Boston. His new contract has two guarantee dates for next season if he can stay on the roster.
“We just told him to go out there and play as hard as he can everything else will fall in,” Marcus Smart said. “He did very well. We were definitely ecstatic with the way that he came out, not really knowing the system and just playing basketball, being a basketball player. So, once he gets more involved into the plays and learning everything else will kind of mesh in well. But for his first time out there, he played very well, and we’re proud of him.”
There’s more from Boston:
- With six straight wins and a healthier roster, the Celtics look like a threat to the top teams in the East, states Mark Medina of USA Today. Injuries and illness have forced the team to go through long stretches without Smart, Kemba Walker and Tristan Thompson, but all three are contributing as the team heads into the final four weeks of the regular season. “The No. 1 reason for our little run is we’ve been, for the most part, healthier,” coach Brad Stevens said. “We just missed lot of guys earlier. I know that sounds like an excuse. I hope it doesn’t. But we tried to stay afloat as well as we could and hope we get to a time where we’re a little bit healthier and put together some weeks of good basketball.”
- Boston could get another boost this week with the return of Evan Fournier, who has been in the league’s health and safety protocols and hasn’t played since April 4, Medina adds. The Celtics acquired Fournier at the trade deadline to provide another scorer, but he only appeared in four games before entering the protocols.
- Indiana University would have offered Stevens a seven-year, $70MM contract to take over as head coach, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (video link from Charlie Clifford of WISH-TV in Indianapolis). Stevens said last month that he has no intention of returning to college basketball.
Jabari Parker‘s new contract with the Celtics runs for two seasons and includes a pair of guarantee dates for 2021/22, according to Jared Weiss and Jason Jones of The Athletic. Parker will receive $100K if he remains on the roster through July 31 – although that date could change if the league calendar is adjusted – and another $1,041,517 if he is still with the team at the start of next season. According to The Athletic’s sources, those combined figures are half of his total $2,283,034 salary with Boston.
The Celtics represent the latest chance for Parker, who was the second player chosen in the 2014 draft. Injuries and other factors have prevented Parker from establishing himself, as Boston will be his seventh team in seven years. He played three games for the Kings this season before being waived last month.
Former Sacramento general manager Vlade Divac was intrigued enough by Parker to trade for him at last year’s deadline, Jones states, but Parker was injured and out of shape when he reported to the team. He contracted COVID-19 before the summer restart, which prevented him from making any impact in Orlando. He was in better condition when training camp began in December, but suffered a back injury and took time away from the team for personal reasons.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- The Celtics‘ decision to waive Moritz Wagner to make room for Parker was a matter of fit, Weiss and Jones add. Luke Kornet has established himself as the team’s third center and Grant Williams has been playing in the middle in small-ball lineups. Wagner doesn’t have a next team lined up yet, but he will try to return to the league this season, a source tells the authors. He wouldn’t be eligible for the playoffs with a new team because he was on Boston’s roster past April 9.
- The Knicks‘ path toward becoming playoff contenders began with a mini-camp last summer, writes Steve Popper of Newsday. While 22 teams were in Orlando for the restart, the other eight were given permission to have a two-week session with players and coaches. That gave newly-hired Tom Thibodeau a chance to get to know his personnel and introduce his system.
- The Raptors have been fined $25K for “failing to comply with league policies governing player rest and injury reporting,” the NBA announced (via Twitter).