- There’s intense pressure on Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff to win big this season, according to Jason Lloyd of The Athletic. The organization believes it has to show that it made the right move by acquiring Donovan Mitchell in the blockbuster with Utah prior to last season. A strong year would also help secure Mitchell’s future with the franchise. Mitchell has an opt-out for the 2025/26 season and could always request a trade prior to that if things go sour.
- LeBron James counts the championship he brought to the Cavaliers in 2016 as one of his most cherished memories, he told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “Spent 11 years here and being able to come back after my Miami stint and win a championship here for this franchise, for this city, I think it was a 52-year [title] drought or something like that in the city of Cleveland for any sports team, I think that was just something that I will never forget no matter how old I get,” James said. “I’ll always remember that moment.”
Hawks forward Jalen Johnson will undergo further testing on his left wrist, which he injured during Saturday’s win in Washington, writes Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Johnson left the game about two-and-a-half minutes into the second quarter after taking a hard hit from Kyle Kuzma as he attempted to complete a fast-break dunk (video link). Johnson fell into the stanchion and landed on his left hand, which he immediately grabbed in obvious pain. After taking his free throws, he exited to the locker room and didn’t return.
The Hawks haven’t provided any updates on the injury since ruling out Johnson for the rest of Saturday’s game. He’ll be further evaluated in the coming days, a source tells Williams.
If he’s forced to miss time, it would be a blow to the Hawks, who have benefited from a breakout year from Johnson so far in 2023/24. Entering Saturday’s contest, the 21-year-old had averaged 14.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 31.4 minutes per night (14 games), with a .590/.421/.774 shooting line.
[UPDATE: Johnson Expected To Miss 4-6 Weeks]
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Only two players in NBA history who are 6’6″ or shorter have ever averaged at least 10 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, and 1.0 steal per game over the course of a season (Charles Barkley and Gar Heard). Pistons guard Ausar Thompson is flirting with that feat through 16 games (9.8 RPG, 1.8 BPG, 1.1 SPG), which makes him something of a unicorn, according to James L. Edwards of The Athletic, who says the rookie likes the label. “I’m a unicorn, even if it doesn’t appear that way because of how people see ‘unicorns’ in their head, physically,” Thompson said. “What I’m out there doing, as you pointed out, only two people have done it before.”
- Now a member of the Cavaliers, forward Georges Niang faced his former team this week and spoke about how much he enjoyed his time with the Sixers, per Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “It felt like home while I was here,” Niang said during his return to Philadelphia. “It’s a place that I’ll always enjoy coming back to. … It jolted me into the next part of my career. So I’m super thankful for the organization, the fans, the people, staff. It was an amazing place to be.” Niang also praised former teammate Tyrese Maxey and suggested the experience the 76ers gained from going through the Ben Simmons saga in 2021/22 helped them navigate James Harden‘s trade request this year.
- Pistons big man Marvin Bagley III is playing some of the best basketball of his career this season, making a career-high 58.6% of his shots from the floor, as Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press details. Bagley credits a newfound focus on his mental health as one important reason for his strong start, noting that he has given up social media and is meditating when he can.
The Heat got in touch with the NBA’s league office to express their concerns about the drop-off on the sidelines of the Cavaliers‘ court at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, reports Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel confirms the Heat contacted the league, though he notes they didn’t file “a formal complaint, per se.”
The drop-off from the playing floor to the sidelines at the edge of the Cavs’ home court is about 10 inches, per Vardon, who says multiple sources confirmed there’s no other NBA arena with that sort of drop.
It came into play on Wednesday when Heat guard Dru Smith contested a Max Strus three-pointer along the sidelines and landed awkwardly near the edge of the floor (video link). Smith’s fall resulted in a season-ending ACL injury.
“I remember during walk-through, when I sat there to get ready for shootaround, just kind of thinking like, ‘Oh, this court’s kind of weird, the drop-off, just the separation between the bench and the court,'” Smith said on Saturday, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (subscription required). “But, you know, when you’re playing, you’re not thinking about where I was going to land or if I was going to miss the court.
“… When I flew by (on the shot contest), my left foot landed and my right foot went between the chair and the bench. As soon as it happened, I knew what happened. I knew I just fell into that little hole. … I would say I knew right away it wasn’t good. I didn’t know exactly obviously what was going on. But I just knew it wasn’t good.”
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra spoke after Wednesday’s game about the dangers of the court design. And, as Vardon details, when the Lakers visited Cleveland on Saturday, head coach Darvin Ham and multiple players echoed Spoelstra’s concerns. Guard Austin Reaves said the sideline drop-off is “a little scary, to be honest,” while former Cavs star LeBron James said “they should address it.”
“It’s something that definitely needs to be looked at,” Ham said. “Any time … you have a situation where someone’s getting hurt and the potential to get hurt, and in this particular case it’s the floor, I think they need to take a look at it and see if there are ways things could be better.”
Of course, as Vardon points out, the design has been in effect since the arena opened nearly 30 years ago. Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said his players are “comfortable” around the sideline area and that there have been no incidents involving Cleveland players.
That’s little solace for Smith. And while he acknowledged that it’s good news that his $1.8MM salary – previously partially guaranteed for $425K – will become fully guaranteed as a result of the season-ending injury, that’s not his primary concern at the moment.
“That’s not really what I’m here for. I’m here to play basketball and prove that I belong in this league and that I can have an impact in this league,” Smith said, according to Winderman. “… I feel like I was in a good spot. I was just looking forward to just continuing to be trusted with the minutes here and there, wherever that was going to be. And I think the more I was playing, the more comfortable I was getting. So I was just really comfortable with that.”
“But that’s not how this year is going to go for me.”
- Donovan Mitchell and Isaac Okoro were cleared to return tonight for the Cavaliers, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Mitchell has missed the past four games with a strained hamstring, while Okoro has been sidelined since November 3 with soreness in his left knee. Both players were able to practice Friday afternoon without issue. They are on a minutes restriction in Saturday’s contest, a source tells Fedor (Twitter link).
- Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff responded to accusations from Heat coach Erik Spoelstra that the court at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse was responsible for Dru Smith‘s season-ending ACL injury, Fedor tweets. “Our guys are comfortable playing here,” Bickerstaff said. “We haven’t had any incidents because of how our floor is built. I could see how opponents who aren’t used to it could see it as a distraction, but we haven’t had any problems with it.”
- Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell missed his fourth straight game on Wednesday due to a hamstring strain, notes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (via Twitter). While there weren’t many positives from the Cavs’ blowout loss to the Heat, rookie guard Craig Porter Jr. got his first career start and continued his streak of strong performances, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscriber link). Porter, who went undrafted in June and is on a two-way contract, recorded 16 points (on 6-of-12 shooting), five assists, two rebounds, two blocks and a steal in 35 minutes.
- A slow 2-3 start for the Cavaliers this fall coincided with the absence of center Jarrett Allen, who was dealing with a bone bruise in his ankle. As Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com details in a subscriber-only story, the Cavs have started to climb the standings upon Allen’s return, going 6-3, including four straight victories, despite other players being injured. While he doesn’t always put up gaudy individual stats, the 25-year-old is the defensive anchor for Cleveland, according to Fedor, who notes that Allen did an admirable job slowing Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid the past two games.
Sixers center Joel Embiid will be sidelined for Wednesday’s game in Minnesota due to left hip soreness, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
While Embiid has been frequently impacted by injuries over the course of his career, there’s no indication at this point that his hip issue is a cause for any real concern. Wednesday’s contest is the second night of a back-to-back set and it will be the first game that the reigning MVP has missed this season. He played 41 minutes in Tuesday’s overtime loss to Cleveland.
Here are a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:
- Nets guard Ben Simmons (back nerve impingement) is making progress in his recovery and has begun “light individual court work,” but he’ll be sidelined for at least seven-to-10 more days, the team announced today in a press release. Brooklyn offered a more positive update on Cam Thomas, who has made “significant improvement” in his recovery from a left ankle sprain and has been cleared for increased on-court work. He’s expected to be integrated into team activities next week, according to the club. Guard Dennis Smith Jr., meanwhile, is day to day with a lower back sprain.
- Kings forward Trey Lyles, who has yet to play this season due to a left calf strain, appears to be on the verge of his season debut. According to Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee, Lyles is expected to be active on Wednesday vs. New Orleans, while Keegan Murray (lower back soreness) will likely be ruled out. Both players were listed as questionable in the NBA’s most recent injury report.
- Magic guard Markelle Fultz is unavailable for a seventh straight game on Wednesday vs. Denver due to left knee tendinitis, tweets Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel.
- In addition to missing Donovan Mitchell for the past three games, the Cavaliers have also been without Caris LeVert, who is dealing with knee soreness, for their past two contests, tweets Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The Cavs haven’t missed a beat without the two guards, however, and are currently riding a four-game winning streak.
The first two quarterfinalists for the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament were determined on Tuesday, as the Pacers‘ win over Atlanta and the Lakers‘ blowout of Utah ensured that both clubs will advance to the knockout round of the tournament.
Indiana, the winner of East Group A, is 3-0 in round robin play and holds the tiebreaker over the 2-1 Cavaliers due to their head-to-head record. Cleveland remains in the hunt for the East’s wild card spot.
As for the Lakers, they’ve played their full round robin slate in West Group A and won all four games, with a +74 point differential. The club has secured home court advantage for the quarterfinals and is in strong position to claim the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed.
Only two other undefeated teams are left in the West and those two clubs – the Kings and Timberwolves – will have to face each other this Friday. If either Sacramento or Minnesota finishes with a 4-0 record in group play, point differential would be the tiebreaker to determine seeding — the two clubs are only +16 and +10, respectively, through two games and would probably need a pair of blowout victories to pass the Lakers.
By making the quarterfinals, the Pacers and Lakers have clinched per-player bonuses worth at least $50K. The value of those bonuses would increase to $100K if they advance to the semifinals, $200K if they make the final, and $500K if they win the entire tournament. The Lakers haven’t been shy about referring to that prize money as a motivating factor, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN notes.
“It’s not a run-of-the-mill regular-season game,” Lakers head coach Darvin Ham said after Tuesday’s win. “They’re well aware. That purse is pretty attractive. … Guys like money. … Not like it, they love it. That incentive right there — it’s huge.”
Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton and head coach Rick Carlisle said this week that they appreciate the fact that the in-season tournament has given a young club – which hasn’t made the playoffs since 2020 – a chance to compete in meaningful games.
The Pistons, Wizards, Trail Blazers, Grizzlies, and Spurs have been eliminated from quarterfinal contention, but every other team technically remains alive. The full in-season tournament standings can be found here.
Jrue Holiday was a key member of the Bucks team that won a championship in 2021. On Wednesday, he’ll be taking the court against his former club for the first time as a member of the conference-rival Celtics, following a pair of preseason trades that sent him first to Portland and then to Boston.
As Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes, the current Bucks who were part of that 2021 team have faced plenty of former teammates over the years, but readily admit that their first matchup against Holiday won’t just be another game. Khris Middleton referred to it as “more personal,” while Giannis Antetokounmpo said it will be odd to see “one of my brothers” wearing a different jersey.
“He’s such a special person and means so much to me and obviously the team and the city,” Bucks center Brook Lopez said. “It’s definitely not going to be just like playing any other previous teammate. It’s definitely going to be different. … I’ll be excited to see him. … I miss him very much.”
“It’s kind of hard to get out your head, you feel me? It’s our brother,” Bobby Portis said. “When you play ball in the Fiserv Forum and we tip up and you look up at the championship, you can’t help but think about him, you feel me? Obviously it’s weird.”
Let’s round up a few more notes from around the Central…
- A win over Atlanta on Tuesday night would clinch the Pacers‘ spot atop East Group A in the in-season tournament, securing their spot in the quarterfinals (Twitter link). Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers are welcoming the opportunity to play in games with bigger stakes than a typical regular season contest, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “The in-season tournament is probably the first time that I’m really competing to win a championship on the NBA level,” Haliburton said. “I’ve never made the playoffs or anything, so right here it gives me the chance to be able to do that, and that’s exciting for me.” Head coach Rick Carlisle believes making a run in the tournament would benefit his club more than just financially: “Opportunities to be on more meaningful stages is something that’s important for young teams.”
- Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell will miss a third consecutive game on Tuesday due to a hamstring strain, tweets Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
- In a conversation with Sam Yip of HoopsHype, Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen said that his ankle, which cost him the first five games of the season, feels “great” now, adding that he believes his minutes restriction has been lifted. Allen also discussed the impact of the Cavs’ offseason additions, his efforts to improve his play-making, and the improvements he has seen from his younger teammates.