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Injury Notes: LaVine, White, Harden, Garland, Hayward, More

February 4th, 2022 at 11:02pm CST by Rory Maher

Bulls All-Star Zach LaVine has been suffering through back spasms recently, Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic relays. LaVine was noticeably wincing during Chicago’s 127-120 overtime defeat to Toronto on Thursday. Center Nikola Vučević says the team appreciates LaVine’s commitment to winning despite not being fully healthy.

“It tells us a lot about Zach playing through back spasms,” Vučević said. “It’s not easy. It limits you a lot. You just don’t have that freedom of movement, especially in the back. It’s a big, important part of your body, especially when you play basketball. I’m sure it was bothering him a lot, especially on the offensive end trying to score and be aggressive.

“But it speaks a lot about his commitment to winning and to this team trying to still be out there. Even him not being 100 percent helps us a lot, so we appreciate him being out there.”

Coach Billy Donovan told reporters, including K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link), that the Bulls are hopeful LaVine will return Sunday after sitting out Friday on the second game of a back-to-back. However, Donovan also said that LaVine is still battling the knee soreness that sidelined him for a handful of games last month.

Here are some more injury updates from around the NBA:

  • LaVine wasn’t the only Bulls player absent from Friday’s 122-115 win at Indiana, as Coby White also missed the game due to a groin strain, Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago tweets. Donovan said White has had lingering discomfort in the groin, but it was aggravated against Toronto.
  • Nets coach Steve Nash said James Harden was held out of Brooklyn’s 125-102 blowout loss at Utah on Friday for precautionary reasons, per Nick Friedell of ESPN (via Twitter). The team is giving Harden a couple extra days rest to ensure his hamstring is feeling better. Nash doesn’t think Harden will need an MRI and is hopeful he’ll return to action Sunday at Denver. Rudy Gay exited the game early for the Jazz with right knee soreness and didn’t return to the court, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets.
  • Cavaliers guard Darius Garland, recently named an All-Star for the first time, missed his third consecutive game Friday at Charlotte with lower back soreness, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Gordon Hayward returned to action for the Hornets in the team’s 102-101 loss after missing the past two weeks due to COVID-19, Boone notes.
  • Lakers forward Carmelo Anthony will likely be out Saturday vs. New York, providing extra rest before the team re-evaluates his strained right hamstring next week, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. LeBron James is also doubtful for the contest against the Knicks with knee swelling, per Marc Berman of The New York Post (Twitter link).
  • Heat center Omer Yurtseven has cleared the health and safety protocols and is available for Saturday’s game at Charlotte, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports (via Twitter).
  • Cade Cunningham, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2021 draft, missed his second straight game for the Pistons Friday with a hip pointer, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com tweets. Coach Dwane Casey said the injury isn’t considered serious, but the team is being cautious with its rising star. The Pistons fell to the Celtics, 102-93.
  • Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon missed his second consecutive game Friday with hamstring tightness, per Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports (Twitter link). The Nuggets lost to the Pelicans without Gordon, 113-105.
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Miles Bridges Hopes To Play Entire Career With Hornets

February 4th, 2022 at 8:16pm CST by Rory Maher

Hornets forward Miles Bridges, a restricted free agent this summer, says he wants to spend the rest of his career in a Hornets uniform, per Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Bridges recently appeared on The QC Hornets’ Nest, Boone’s podcast for the Observer. Here are some highlights from the chat:

On his desire to stay with a rising Hornets squad long-term, hopefully forever:

“If I could, I’d pull a Dirk (Nowitzki) or a Kobe (Bryant), you know. I love being in Charlotte. I love the fans, I love the atmosphere and I want to be a part of something that’s building, you know. I feel like we’re building something and eventually we want to win a championship. That’s the goal.”

On improvements he hopes to make going forward:

“Defense. Do better at defense, do better at leading. Staying more consistent during games. My body language, that type of stuff. Mental stuff. I feel like I could be more consistent there. And just being more consistent as a leader. Even when things are going bad, I don’t put my head down. I’m the one to pick everybody up.”

On his partnership with LaMelo Ball:

“I love playing with ‘Melo. I knew from the first preseason game that we were gonna be a good group of guys in the game together. I love playing with him. He’s elevated his game, I’ve elevated my game. We push each other. It’s just a brotherhood for me and him. It’s like my brother.”

On LaMelo’s passing ability:

“I played with Kemba (Walker) and Devonte’ (Graham) and those guys are great scorers and they can pass, but Melo, he’s a great passer. He finds people even when you’re not looking. So, it’s great playing with him.”

On Charlotte making a playoff push in the second half of the season:

“It’s gonna be fun for us. We’re just gonna have to double down on everything that we’ve been doing to make this playoff push. The fans haven’t seen the playoffs in a long time so we want to give them that and we want to experience it for ourselves. We’re definitely gonna be more locked-in coming in after the All-Star break and leading up to the All-Star break.”

Bridges has been a breakout star this season, averaging career-highs in several categories, including: 19.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.0 steal. He’s played in 50 games (35.8 minutes) to this point, with a shooting line of .486/.316/.784.

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2021/22 Rising Stars Team Rosters

February 4th, 2022 at 6:27pm CST by Rory Maher

As we previously relayed, the NBA announced a new format for its Rising Stars event at All-Star weekend, which will take place on Friday, February 18. The event will feature four seven-player teams competing in a three-game tournament (two semifinals and a final).

The player pool is comprised of 12 NBA rookies, 12 sophomores, and four players from the G League Ignite, while the games will be played to a target score: 50 points in the semifinals and 25 points in the final, in honor of the league’s 75th anniversary season.

The rosters were announced on February 1, but now the four honorary coaches (75th anniversary team members Rick Barry, Isiah Thomas, Gary Payton and James Worthy) have selected their seven-man teams, per our JD Shaw (Twitter link). Here are the rosters:

Team Barry:

Team Isiah:

Team Payton:

Team Worthy:

James Ham of ESPN 1320 and The Kings Beat provides (via Twitter) the full draft results.

The top 10, in order, were: Edwards, Mobley, Ball, Anthony, Giddey, Barnes, Cunningham, Bey, Bane, and Wagner. It’s worth noting that Worthy and Anthony both went to the University of North Carolina, so Anthony’s selection at No. 4 is less surprising given that context.

What do you think of the teams? Who do you think will come out on top? Head to the comments section and let us know your thoughts!

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Hayward Exits Protocols, Questionable Friday

February 3rd, 2022 at 8:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Hornets forward Gordon Hayward cleared the league’s health and safety protocols on Tuesday, according to the team’s PR department (Twitter link). He didn’t travel with the team to Boston on Wednesday due to reconditioning and is listed as questionable to play against Cleveland on Friday.

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NBA Announces 2021/22 Rising Stars Rosters

February 1st, 2022 at 6:34pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The NBA has revealed the 28 players (12 rookies, 12 sophomores, and four G League Ignite players) who will suit up for the 2022 Clorox Rising Stars Game in Cleveland this year, per its official PR account (Twitter links). There are a few intriguing surprises among the first-year NBA players.

Here are the players who made the cut:

Rookies:

Sophomores:

Additionally, four players from the G League Ignite will participate in the Rising Stars Game based on voting from NBA G League head coaches. The NBAGL has announced (Twitter link) that MarJon Beauchamp, Dyson Daniels, Jaden Hardy and Scoot Henderson will partake in the action. Players will be separated into four teams, and each G League player will be drafted to join one of the teams later this week.

Among the rookie NBA players, the additions who would be most surprising ahead of the 2021/22 season would be Dosunmu and Jones, both of whom were second-round draft selections. 2021 lottery picks Jonathan Kuminga, Ziaire Williams, James Bouknight, Joshua Primo and Moses Moody were all omitted from inclusion this year.

Among the second-year players, Ball could be appearing on multiple nights during All-Star Weekend this season, as he appears to be a very possible first-time All-Star this year thanks to his outstanding work with the upstart Hornets.

The lottery-bound Magic, Pistons, and Rockets can boast having the most inclusions here, with three players apiece.

As we detailed last week, this year’s Rising Stars event will look a little different, with the four teams taking part in a mini-tournament and playing to a target score in each game: 50 points in the semifinals and 25 points in the final, in honor of the league’s 75th anniversary season.

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Boone: Hornets Need Upgrade At Center

February 1st, 2022 at 1:58pm CST by Luke Adams
  • In a column for The Charlotte Observer, Rod Boone argues that the Hornets must make a move at the trade deadline to upgrade their center position. While Boone isn’t advocating for selling the farm, he believes the team would squander a golden opportunity for “significant growth” this season if it stands pat.
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NBA Fines Mavs’ Porzingis, Hornets’ Washington, Raptors’ Champagnie

January 27th, 2022 at 10:57am CST by Luke Adams

Three NBA players have been fined $15K apiece by the league for recent violations, according to a pair of press releases.

Mavericks big man Kristaps Porzingis received his $15K fine for kicking the game ball into the stands during the fourth quarter of his team’s blowout loss to Golden State on Tuesday. Porzingis received a technical foul and was ejected at the time of the incident — now he’ll face an additional penalty, though losing $15K of his $31.65MM salary is hardly an exorbitant punishment.

Meanwhile, Hornets forward P.J. Washington and Raptors forward Justin Champagnie were each fined $15K for their involvement in an on-court altercation during the first quarter of Tuesday’s game in Toronto.

As the league outlined in its announcement, Washington hip-checked Champagnie to the ground and the Raptors rookie retaliated by shoving Washington in the back. The Hornets forward escalated the incident by “forcefully shoving” Champagnie, according to the league. Both players received technical fouls and were ejected.

The penalties will sting a little more for Washington and especially Champagnie than for Porzingis. Washington has a $4.2MM salary this season, while Champagnie is a two-way player whose 2021/22 earnings can max out at about $752K.

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Eastern Trade Rumors: Smart, Hawks, Collins, Siakam, Sabonis, More

January 27th, 2022 at 10:25am CST by Luke Adams

Prior to sending Cam Reddish to New York, the Hawks discussed the framework of a trade with the Celtics that would’ve sent Reddish and Kevin Huerter to Boston in a deal for Marcus Smart, reports Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.

Huerter is one of 11 players affected this season by the poison pill provision, complicating salary-matching in any trade involving him, but the deal described by Fischer theoretically would’ve worked for both sides if Atlanta had included another minimum-salary player (likely Solomon Hill).

Smart ultimately stayed put, and Fischer says it would take “significant value” for the Celtics to move him in another deal in the next two weeks. According to Fischer, there’s a sense around the league that the Celtics will be better in the second half than they were in the first half, as long as they’re healthier and first-year head coach Ime Udoka gets more comfortable.

Here a few more trade notes and rumors from around the Eastern Conference:

  • One team contacted by the Hawks told Bleacher Report that Atlanta wanted a “valuable” first-round pick and a starting-caliber player in exchange for John Collins. Other teams think the Hawks could get even more than that for Collins, says Fischer.
  • According to Fischer, the Raptors and Pacers at least briefly discussed a trade involving Domantas Sabonis and Pascal Siakam, but those talks stalled. The concept makes some sense in theory, since it would allow Myles Turner to be the lone center in Indiana, and Toronto has long been in the market for a five.
  • Since Brook Lopez‘s recovery timeline remains up in the air, the Bucks are “poking around” the market for a center, with Suns big man Jalen Smith mentioned as a possible target, per Fischer. Semi Ojeleye is considered to be available and Milwaukee has received inquiries about Pat Connaughton and Donte DiVincenzo, Fischer adds.
  • A handful of teams have expressed some interest in Cavaliers forward Cedi Osman, including the Spurs, Hornets, Mavericks, and Bucks, writes Fischer.
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Rockets Rumors: Gordon, Wood, Theis

January 27th, 2022 at 8:49am CST by Luke Adams

A report earlier this week stated that the Rockets appear increasingly likely to hang onto Eric Gordon through this season’s trade deadline, but Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report hears that Houston – in discussions with rival teams – has conveyed confidence about receiving a first-round pick in exchange for Gordon.

Unless the pick is heavily protected or they’d have to take a really bad contract or two back in return, it’s hard to imagine the Rockets would turn down the opportunity to acquire a first-rounder for the 33-year-old guard, who doesn’t fit the their rebuild timeline.

While there may have been some truth to The Athletic’s report about the Rockets’ desire to keep Gordon for his leadership abilities, I suspect the team is posturing at least to some extent in an effort to get teams to increase their offers.

Here’s more on the Rockets:

  • An earlier report on Christian Wood linked him to the Heat, stating that Miami has been one of the most “persistent” teams engaging with Houston in conversations about Wood. Fischer confirms the Heat have been frequently mentioned recently as a potential suitor for the big man.
  • According to Fischer, word of a possible Wood/Duncan Robinson framework has circulated around the league, but the Rockets would certainly require a far greater return for their leading scorer, rebounder, and shot-blocker, who is on a very team-friendly contract (Wood will earn $13.7MM this season and $14.3MM in 2022/23).
  • Rockets center Daniel Theis has been generating significant interest, Fischer reports, naming the Hornets, Bucks, and Raptors as teams that have inquired on the big man. Fischer also confirms that the Celtics have checked in on Theis, as previously reported by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
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Gordon Hayward Enters Protocols

January 26th, 2022 at 4:47pm CST by Rory Maher

Hornets forward Gordon Hayward has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols and will miss Wednesday’s game at Indiana, Charlotte’s PR department tweets. Hayward has been dealing with right foot discomfort and was listed as questionable earlier in the day (Twitter link) after missing the past two games versus Atlanta and at Toronto, respectively.

Hayward is in the second season of a four-year, $120MM contract with the Hornets. He’s having another strong season for Charlotte, playing 45 out of 48 games (33.1 MPG) while averaging 17.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 3.7 APG, and 1.0 SPG on .471/.397/.846 shooting.

A one-time All-Star with Utah, Hayward has struggled to stay on the court at times after suffering a gruesome ankle injury during the opening minutes of his debut with Boston in 2017/18. However, he’s been very effective over the past three seasons when he’s been able to play. The Hornets (26-22, seventh in the East) have struggled without Hayward this season, going 0-3 thus far with an average margin of defeat of more than 14 points.

Hayward is now the 12th player actively in the protocols according to our tracker, down considerably from the end of last month. He is currently the lone Hornets player affected.

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