- Though the West’s fifth-seeded Mavericks have the fourth-seeded Clippers on the ropes with a 3-2 advantage in the two teams’ first-round rematch, the team is wary of celebrating too early, per Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News.
With the Celtics facing elimination, Kemba Walker and Robert Williams have been declared out for Game 5 against the Nets on Tuesday, Malika Andrews of ESPN tweets. Walker (left knee bone bruise) and Williams (left ankle sprain) had previously been listed as doubtful. Neither played in Game 4 after exiting Game 3 in the early going.
We have more injury updates:
- Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is expected to return to the lineup for Game 5 against Phoenix on Tuesday, Dave McMenamin of ESPN tweets. He missed Game 4 with a sore left knee.
- The Mavericks’ Luka Doncic (neck strain) and Maxi Kleber (right Achilles soreness) are listed as probable to play Game 5 on Wednesday, Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News tweets.
- Thanasis Antetokounmpo isn’t doing any contact work yet but “he did most, if not all of the non-contact portion of (Tuesday’s) practice,” according to Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer, as Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets. He suffered an avulsion fracture to his right patella tendon suffered on May 16.
Luka Doncic‘s neck strain appears to be improving heading into Wednesday’s pivotal Game 5 against the Clippers, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The Mavericks superstar downplayed the nerve issue in his neck after his subpar shooting performance in Game 4, Tim MacMahon of ESPN writes. “Injuries are part of basketball, but I was 100 percent,” Doncic said. “I played terrible, so just got to move on to next one.”
Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic was available to play in Game 4 against the Clippers on Sunday night, as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported he would. Doncic suffered a strained neck in Game 3 and his status was uncertain at the time.
“It’s just weird,” Doncic said of his injury, which also caused some pain in his left arm. “Just some massage, some ice and hopefully it will be good.”
Doncic has played some of the best basketball of his career this series, averaging 38 points, 8.7 rebounds and nine assists through three games. He’s also shot 52% from the floor and 46% from behind-the-arc.
There’s more from the Western Conference tonight:
- Lakers forward Kostas Antetokounmpo has been attending to a personal matter in Greece, explaining his recent absence from the team, according to Adrian Wojnarowski and Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Antetokoumpo is currently on a two-way contract with the club. There’s optimism that he could return if the Lakers advance past the Suns in the first round, the duo notes.
- Clippers big man Serge Ibaka missed Game 4 due to lingering back soreness, as first reported by Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Ibaka has provided valuable production when healthy, averaging 11.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 23.3 minutes in 41 games this season.
- The Warriors still have a ways to go before returning to contention, says Moke Hamilton of Basketball News. Golden State played without Klay Thompson (torn Achilles’ rehab) this season, though Thompson is expected to return for 2021-22. The team would have its championship trio of Stephen Curry, Thompson, and Draymond Green to build around for the future.
- Luka Doncic is listed as questionable for today’s Game 4, but the Mavericks expect him to be available, according to Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News. Doncic has a cervical strain and was feeling pain in his neck and left arm during Friday’s game. “I think he’s going to play, but we’ll see tomorrow,” coach Rick Carlisle told reporters Saturday. “Questionable, generally, from what I’ve seen this year with other teams and our team is more likely to play than not, in most cases.”
- Olimpia Milano has interest in signing Mavericks big man Nicolò Melli after the playoffs, relays Dario Skerletic of Sportando. The original report came from Daniele Dallera of Corriere della Sera, who says Olimpia coach Ettore Messina has reached out to Melli’s agent several times. Melli spent five seasons with the team earlier in his career.
Anthony Davis is officially listed as questionable for Sunday’s Game 4 with Phoenix, but the Lakers star doesn’t see any question about his status, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
“There’s no chance that I don’t play tomorrow,” Davis said after today’s practice. “As a player, I’ve wanted to be in this moment. You want to be in the playoffs and help contribute to my team’s success. I want to be out there. So in my eyes, for me as a competitor, I think I’ll be out there tomorrow.”
Davis suffered a hyperextended left knee after landing awkwardly on a chase-down block in Game 3. He was able to play 40 minutes in the victory, even though he was in pain for the rest of the night. Davis said he didn’t need an MRI, but there has been swelling in the knee and he’s been wearing a compression sleeve.
“I haven’t mentioned or talked about a brace,” he said. “But if that’s going to help, then I don’t mind going back to the 1970s brace.”
There’s more injury news to pass along:
- The Lakers are also listing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as questionable after he hurt his left knee and quad area in Thursday’s game, McMenamin adds. Coach Frank Vogel said he’s hopeful that both players will be available.
- Suns guard Chris Paul sat out today’s practice and is still experiencing pain in his left shoulder, tweets NBA writer Gina Mizell. Coach Monty Williams said the team’s medical staff told him Paul is “ready to play, and that’s all I can go off of.”
- The Mavericks are listing Luka Doncic as questionable for Sunday with a cervical strain, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Doncic said he began feeling pain in his neck around halftime Friday night and it eventually spread down his left arm. “It’s just weird,” he said. “Just some massage, some ice and hopefully it will be good.”
- Celtics center Robert Williams has been downgraded to doubtful for Sunday, according to Brian Robb of MassLive. Williams had an awkward landing in the first quarter Friday night and didn’t return to the game after playing just six minutes. He has also been dealing with turf toe for the past month. “Rob’s doubtful,” coach Brad Stevens said after today’s practice. “He probably won’t do anything in the morning and see how he feels as we get closer to game time. But you saw him last night, even in his stint, I thought he looked pretty limited. We’re hopeful to have everybody available, but at least in Rob’s case I’d say that’s probably doubtful.”
- Celtics guard Kemba Walker is listed as questionable for the second straight game with a bone bruise in his knee, Robb adds. Walker played in Game 3, but shot just 3-of-14 from the field and had five turnovers. “Kemba was sore today,” Stevens said. “I think that he’ll go through stuff in the morning tomorrow and have a better idea on him.”
The Clippers, who already have their back to the walls, won’t have one of their top big men available against the Mavericks on Friday, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
Serge Ibaka will sit out due to a lingering back issue. The Clippers lost the first two games of the series with Ibaka playing limited minutes. He only saw action for six minutes in Game 2 after a 13-minute stint in Game 1.
Ibaka played two games late in the regular season after being sidelined for two months due to his back injury. Ibaka admitted to the media just after the regular season he’s been dealing with a nerve issue in his back all season and it hasn’t fully healed.
Ibaka was one of the key signings the Clippers made after last season’s playoff flameout. Ibaka inked a two-year, $19MM contract that included a $9.72MM player option this summer.
Pelicans combo guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker found ways to improve during his second NBA season, writes Christian Clark of NOLA.com. Clark highlights Alexander-Walker’s growth as a ball-handler. The 22-year-old, who may play for Team Canada this summer, averaged an encouraging 19.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG and 3.0 APG across the 13 games he started.
Alexander-Walker indicated that extended reps at the NBA level have yielded his growth with the Pelicans. “You start to catch onto things,” he said. “You start to read things and understand what buttons control different things.”
There’s more out of the Southwest Division:
- Mavericks center Kristaps Porzingis told reporters that the behavior that violated COVID-19 protocols and yielded a $50K league fine was a result of his not understanding the NBA’s stringent new rules as more businesses open across the country during the pandemic, tweets Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News. “I was honestly a little bit confused (about the protocols), but I made a mistake and I paid for it,” Porzingis said. The Dallas big man, who is vaccinated, visited an indoor L.A.-area club.
- In trading for and subsequently extending center Steven Adams, the Pelicans were hoping to establish an intense interior presence with their new frontcourt tandem of Adams and All-Star power forward Zion Williamson, writes Christian Clark of NOLA.com. That approach did not even yield a top-10 finish in the West this season, prompting Clark to wonder if New Orleans head of basketball operations David Griffin will attempt to move on from Adams.
- Though the Mavericks won both the first two games of their first-round matchup against the Clippers on the road, the team is looking to improve from a lackluster free-throw shooting performance, writes Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News. “It’s an area where we can gain ground,” head coach Rick Carlisle said. The Mavericks connected on just 66% of their foul shots during the first two games of the series, down from 77.8% during the regular season. Swingman Tim Hardaway Jr., an unrestricted free agent this summer whom Dallas hopes to retain, has shot just 4-of-8 from the charity stripe.
Tim Hardaway Jr. is expected to be one of the top wings available on the free agent market this offseason, but he may end up not going anywhere. According to Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link), there’s confidence within the Mavericks‘ organization about the team’s ability to sign Hardaway to a new contract.
Hardaway, 29, is in the final season of the four-year, $71MM deal he signed with the Knicks in 2017. New York faced some criticism at the time of the signing for what was perceived as an overpay, but Hardaway has lived up to his end of the bargain, averaging 16.9 points on .423/.364/.825 shooting and playing solid defense in 263 games (30.5 MPG) for the Knicks and Mavericks over the life of the contract.
Having made 39.4% of his three-point attempts during the last two years in Dallas, Hardaway has gotten even hotter to start the postseason, averaging 24.5 PPG and making 11-of-17 threes in the Mavs’ two wins over the Clippers in Los Angeles. If he keeps it up and helps push the team to the second round, that should only help his stock in free agency.
According to Basketball Insiders’ data, the Mavs currently have approximately $73MM in guaranteed money on their books for 2021/22. Theoretically, Dallas could create a sizeable chunk of cap room, but that would depend on what they do with free agents like Hardaway, J.J. Redick, and Boban Marjanovic. Josh Richardson‘s $11.6MM player option and Willie Cauley-Stein‘s $4.1MM team option are also wild cards that could impact the club’s flexibility.
Even if the Mavs were to carve out significant cap space, it’s unclear whether they’d realistically be able to land anyone who fits the current roster better than Hardaway, considering this year’s free agent class isn’t particularly star-studded. Focusing on re-signing the veteran wing makes sense, though it may take an offer that matches or exceeds his previous $18MM annual salary to lock him up.
Team Canada has yet to secure a place in the men’s basketball event at the Tokyo Olympics, but the club should have a loaded roster as it looks to lock up a spot in a qualifying tournament next month.
Canada Basketball issued a press release today announcing its 21-player preliminary roster for the Olympic qualifier, and the group includes 14 players who finished the season on NBA contracts. Here’s the full list:
- Kyle Alexander, F
- Nickeil Alexander-Walker, G (Pelicans)
- RJ Barrett, G (Knicks)
- Trae Bell-Haynes, G
- Anthony Bennett, F
- Khem Birch, C (Raptors)
- Oshae Brissett, F (Pacers)
- Dillon Brooks, F (Grizzlies)
- Brandon Clarke, F (Grizzlies)
- Aaron Doornekamp, F
- Luguentz Dort, F (Thunder)
- Melvin Ejim, F
- Cory Joseph, G (Kings)
- Trey Lyles, F (Spurs)
- Mychal Mulder, G (Warriors)
- Andrew Nicholson, F
- Andrew Nembhard, G
- Kelly Olynyk, F (Rockets)
- Dwight Powell, F (Mavericks)
- Tristan Thompson, C (Celtics)
- Andrew Wiggins, F (Warriors)
Of the seven players who didn’t play in the NBA this season, one (Bennett) is a former first overall pick, another (Nicholson) was also a first-round selection, and a third (Alexander) has NBA experience. Bell-Haynes has played in the G League, while Doornekamp, Ejim, and Nembhard all have extensive experience representing Canada in past international competitions.
Still, a few noteworthy names are missing from the list. Nuggets guard Jamal Murray is recovering from a torn ACL and won’t be able to participate. Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is also dealing with an injury, announcing on Instagram that rehabbing the plantar fasciitis in his right foot will prevent him from representing Team Canada.
Raptors big man Chris Boucher is a third notable omission. According to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link), Boucher is focused on rehabbing a knee sprain and wants to make sure he’s 100% healthy heading into 2021/22. He also has a somewhat uncertain contract situation — his $7MM salary for next season is non-guaranteed, though I’d be shocked if he’s not retained.
Even without Murray, Gilgeous-Alexander, and Boucher, Canada Basketball is in position to run out a roster stacked with NBA talent and led by former NBA Coach of the Year Nick Nurse.
While the final roster will depend in part on which players are available, none of the 21 players on the preliminary are on teams expected to still be alive for the conference finals. However, a club like Powell’s Mavericks or Barrett’s Knicks could surprise.
Team Canada will compete against Greece, China, Uruguay, Turkey, and the Czech Republic in a qualifying tournament in Victoria, British Columbia between June 29 and July 4. If the club wins that six-team qualifier, it will be part of the 12-team field in Tokyo and would be a legit contender for a medal.