- Hornets guard Terry Rozier suffered a contusion on his right hip while diving for a loose ball Sunday night, according to Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer. Rozier’s status for Monday’s game at Sacramento will be determined later today.
DECEMBER 16: Hayward plans to make his return to the Hornets’ lineup on Friday, agent Mark Bartelstein confirms to Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
DECEMBER 15: Hornets forward Gordon Hayward, who has missed nine consecutive games with a left shoulder fracture, is “hopeful” he’ll be able to return to action on Friday against the Hawks, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
According to Wojnarowski, Hayward will determine whether he’s ready to go after Friday’s shootaround.
Hayward also missed eight straight games early last month with what the Hornets called a left shoulder contusion. That apparent discrepancy was a point of contention for Hayward’s wife, who criticized the organization for not protecting its players after her husband was diagnosed with a fracture, not a contusion.
The 32-year-old has always been a productive player when healthy, and this season has been no different. Through 11 games (32.3 MPG) in 2022/23, he has averaged 16.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG and 4.4 APG on .445/.381/.767 shooting.
Hayward’s potential return will be a welcome sight for both the player and the team, as star point guard LaMelo Ball just returned on Wednesday. Ball has appeared in just four games thus far for the Hornets after dealing with a couple of left ankle sprains.
Injuries have been a significant issue for Hayward since he joined Boston as a free agent in 2017, but if he can stay healthy for the next few months perhaps he’ll boost his stock. He has one more year left on his current contract, which will pay him $31.5MM in ’23/24, so he’ll be a free agent in 2024.
Celtics forward Jayson Tatum is the choice for Most Valuable Player one-third of the way through the 2022/23 NBA season, Nekias Duncan of BasketballNews.com argues in an early-season award ballot. Tatum is averaging over 30 points, eight rebounds, and four assists per game with terrific shooting numbers and is a candidate for an All-Defensive spot on the other end of the floor, according to Duncan, who contends that doing all that for the NBA’s best team makes the MVP award Tatum’s to lose.
Duncan also checks in on the NBA’s other award races, selecting Bucks center Brook Lopez as the top candidate for Defensive Player of the Year, Magic forward Paolo Banchero as the early Rookie of the Year frontrunner, and Bucks forward/center Bobby Portis as his Sixth Man of the Year choice, among others.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Which teams should be throwing in the towel on 2022/23 and focusing on next year’s draft? John Hollinger of The Athletic breaks down the potential tankers, ranging from the “pull the plug already” group (the Pistons and Hornets) to the “one injury away” tier, which includes playoff hopefuls like the Heat, Mavericks, and Raptors.
- A panel of SI.com basketball writers – including Howard Beck, Chris Mannix, and Chris Herring – prepared for NBA trade season by identifying a player they expect to be moved, picking an intriguing team to watch, and naming a trade they’d like to see happen this season. Three of the five panelists pointed to a Bradley Beal deal as one they’re hoping for, even if it’s probably unlikely in the first season of his five-year contract with the Wizards.
- Michael Pina of The Ringer poses and explores nine questions related to the trade market, including whether the league-wide parity we’ve seen so far this season will catalyze or stifle negotiations. Like those SI.com writers, Pina would welcome some action on the Beal front, referring to the union between the All-Star guard and the Wizards as “the most frustrating dead-end relationship in the entire NBA.”
5:05pm: Ball will be “active and available” for tonight’s game against the Pistons, the Hornets confirmed (via Twitter)
11:17am: Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball has been upgraded to questionable for Wednesday’s game against Detroit and is aiming to return to action, barring a setback during pregame warmups, according to Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer.
Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link) classifies Ball as “optimistic” about playing on Wednesday, while Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link) says the former No. 3 overall pick is “hopeful” to return.
Ball, who missed the first 13 games of the Hornets’ season due to a left ankle sprain, re-injured his ankle in his third game back on November 16. He has been sidelined for 11 more games since then and has now been on the shelf for 24 of 27 total contests during the first third of the season.
The Hornets have struggled mightily without their All-Star available this fall, going 6-18 in the games Ball missed. They won one of the three he played, as the 21-year-old averaged 19.3 points, 7.0 assists, and 3.7 rebounds in 32.7 minutes per night. Charlotte is currently on a five-game losing streak.
The Hornets will host the Pistons tonight and the Hawks on Friday. Assuming Ball returns and makes it through those two games without aggravating his ankle, he should be good to go for the team’s six-game road trip that begins on Sunday in Denver.
- Pincus suggests the Jazz might be more of a buyer than a seller after their 15-14 start to the season. He also mentions that teams are eyeing the Hornets as a seller after injuries and off-court issues ravaged the roster. According to Pincus, Terry Rozier, Kelly Oubre, Mason Plumlee and P.J. Washington are among the players worth watching. Washington, in particular, is reportedly seeking more money than Charlotte might be willing to offer in restricted free agency, per Pincus.
Injured Hornets small forward Cody Martin has recently joined his teammates during Charlotte’s pregame warmups, and has been working on his lateral cutting, Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer notes (Twitter video link). Boone writes that this could be an indication that Martin is nearing his return.
Martin left the Hornets’ first game of the season after just one minute of play due to a quadriceps injury and has been sidelined ever since. Martin inked a four-year, $32MM deal over the summer after a career-best season in 2021/22 as a key backup. Across 71 contests that year, he averaged 7.7 PPG on .482/.384/.701 shooting splits, 4.0 RPG, 2.5 APG, and 1.2 SPG.
There’s more out of the Southeast:
- The play of Hornets rookie Bryce McGowens has been one of the few positive storylines of an otherwise miserable season in Charlotte, Boone writes in another piece. “There’s a lot of positives going forward and he’s right at the top of that list to me,” head coach Steve Clifford said. “He’s got size, he has instincts, he has a feel for the game. But the biggest thing is he steps out there like he belongs. He’s poised, he’s smart.” Boone notes that McGowens has played big minutes in the team’s last six contests. In those games, the 20-year-old out of Nebraska is averaging 5.8 PPG, 2.3 RPG and 1.7 SPG in 21.5 MPG. Though he is making just 38.7% of his total field goal tries, he is nailing an excellent 45.5% of his triples and 85.7% of his free throws.
- Heat All-Star small forward Jimmy Butler did not mince words following perhaps the team’s worst loss of a loss-heavy season, a 115-111 defeat to the tanking Spurs. Butler sought accountability up and town Miami’s roster, noting that “everybody has to be better,” per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. “We show flashes of what we can be and who we are. It’s just, damn, whenever we get away from that, it looks bad.” The Heat are currently 12-15 on the season. Butler has already missed 10 games, but when he has played he has been as good as ever, averaging 21.8 PPG with a .525/.378/.858 slash line, playing at an elite defensive level, and chipping in 6.7 RPG, 6.0 APG, and 1.7 SPG for good measure. The team has gone 8-9 when the six-time All-Star has been available.
- In case you missed it, the Heat recently made a new addition, waiving two-way guard Dru Smith to make way for returning center Orlando Robinson on a two-way contract.
- Injuries have prevented the Hornets from getting a clear sense of what works and what doesn’t, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. “We haven’t played enough lineups together,” head coach Steve Clifford said. “We have individual goals for the guys. But in terms of our group, we’ve had no continuity. So, it’s been hard to figure out. Usually by 15 games, you can say, ‘When we defensive rebound, we win.’ ‘When we don’t turn the ball over, we’re good.’ And we’ve been all over the place. So that’s a good question, but we are not there yet.”
- In a mailbag for The Charlotte Observer (subscriber link), Boone says Hornets forward Kelly Oubre is a player worth keeping an eye on this season. As Boone outlines, Oubre would be a movable asset if the team decides to sell, but he appears to have interest in remaining in Charlotte if the club is interested in keeping him.
Mark Williams hasn’t played as much as some of his fellow first-round picks, so he’s taking advantage of the opportunities the Hornets are giving him in the G League, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Williams was selected 15th overall, but the Hornets view him as a long-term project at center. He’s behind Mason Plumlee and Nick Richards on the depth chart and has logged 13 total minutes in three games, so Williams is focused on making an impact with Greensboro Swarm.
“Go down there, dominate, show the pro that I am and I try to do that,” Williams said. “There’s nothing like playing five-on-five. It’s good to get in a flow, get into rhythm and be able to play, go down and do that. I just got to make the most of the opportunity when I’m out there, just try to work on my game. Work on the defensive principles and stuff like that, so whenever the opportunity comes, I’ll be ready for it.”
Boone points out that Charlotte traditionally has young players work on their skills in the G League, with Richards and Kai Jones as two recent examples. Coach Steve Clifford said it’s beneficial for rookies to play regularly and experience success, and Williams is on board with that philosophy.
“At the end of the day it’s not like when I’m there I can do anything about it,” Williams said. “You’ve just got to make the most of it, turn it into a positive and just go out there and play basketball. It’s definitely great for your confidence, going there, playing there, playing well. It’s definitely great for your confidence to go there and show what you are capable of.”
There’s more from Charlotte:
- The Hornets’ top four guards have all battled injuries this season, so Theo Maledon has been playing more than expected, Boone adds. Maledon signed a two-way contract on October 15, four days after being waived by the Rockets, and is averaging 16.7 minutes in 20 games. “It’s for sure a huge confidence boost,” Maledon said. “Just not being there for preseason and just getting in with the team and just being able to do what I’m doing right now is a great feeling, and I just want it to keep going and have that same mentality for sure.”
- With free agency looming next summer, Kelly Oubre sounds interested in a long-term future in Charlotte. He talked about his love for the city in an appearance on Boone’s podcast. “Just coming from where I’ve been at in my career, just like the ups and downs, the uneasiness, I’ve never been able to find a consistent flow in a city, other than the city I was drafted in because I was there for so long,” Oubre said. “It’s just been amazing, man, to come and play for this city and for this organization.”
- Dennis Smith Jr. will miss his fourth straight game tonight with a sprained left ankle, but he’s no longer wearing a walking boot, Boone tweets.
It has been a rough season so far for the Hornets, who have battled the injury bug and rank 13th in the East with a 6-15 record. However, the emergence of forward Jalen McDaniels as reliable rotation piece has been a bright spot, writes Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer.
The No. 52 overall pick in the 2019 draft, McDaniels appeared in 118 games in his first three seasons, averaging 17.7 minutes per contest. This season, that number has jumped to 25.8 MPG and he has played in all 21 of Charlotte’s games to date, averaging new career highs in PPG (9.7), RPG (3.6), and APG (2.2), among several other categories.
“It feels great because I really know I’m not supposed to be here,” McDaniels said. “Statistics for the second-round, 52nd pick, 54th pick or whatever it was is like, ‘Not supposed to be here, out (of) the league second year.’ That’s what the statistics say. So it’s just me being an underdog. Even in high school I wasn’t recruited like that until my last year. I just know how this goes, I feel like I’ve always got to take the long route every time I do something.”
Having signed a four-year contract as a rookie in 2019, McDaniels will be an unrestricted free agent for the first time in 2023 if he doesn’t sign an extension before then.
Here’s more from around the Southeast:
- Kristaps Porzingis may be the primary factor in determining how far the Wizards can go this season, according to David Aldridge of The Athletic, who says the big man being healthy and productive at both ends of the court is crucial to the team’s success. Porzingis’ effectiveness as a rim protector this season has helped improve a Washington defense that ranked 25th in defensive rating in 2021/22, Aldridge notes.
- After having his 2023/24 team option declined last month, Magic wing R.J. Hampton doesn’t have a defined role in Orlando in the short- or the long-term, but he’s not letting that bother him, according to Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel. “It really (doesn’t) change anything,” Hampton said when asked about his fluctuating minutes. “The coaches give me confidence every game whether I’m playing or not. My teammates give me confidence every game, so whether I don’t play for two games or 10 minutes (in) one game, I feel like I’ve been prepared by them.”
- Hawks rookie AJ Griffin tells Spencer Davies of BasketballNews.com that he has felt at home in Atlanta, which has made the adjustment from college to the NBA smoother. “Just the love from the veterans here, I appreciate it. I just really enjoy being here and being able to play with everyone and being able to play on the court with each other. It’s special so far,” Griffin said, singling out guards Trae Young and Dejounte Murray. “It’s fun to watch, just to be able to play with those guys. It’s still early in the season, and I feel like something special is brewing.” Griffin only played double-digit minutes once in Atlanta’s first nine games, but has done so in all 12 games since then, averaging 21.4 MPG during that stretch.
- After playing just 430 total minutes in his first two NBA seasons, Hornets big man Nick Richards is already on the verge of surpassing that number in year three, having logged 413 minutes in his first 21 games. While he has shown this fall that he deserves a rotation spot, Richards doesn’t blame the Hornets for being patient with him, as he tells Spencer Davies of BasketballNews.com. “Honestly I feel like the first two years were really good, were really more important years for me,” he said. “I sat back and learned from my vets that are in front of me. Just watched them and how they play on the floor, and just try to duplicate that.”