- Davon Reed, who is on his second 10-day contract with the Nuggets under the hardship exemption, said playing for coach Michael Malone has been “transformative for my career,” tweets Mike Singer of The Denver Post.
Three Timberwolves players took advantage of their expanded roles in the team’s game against the Jazz on Thursday, Chris Hine of the Star Tribune writes. Malik Beasley, Jaden McDaniels and Jake Layman all gave a solid effort, but the team still lost 128-116 without Karl-Anthony Towns or Anthony Edwards available.
Beasley finished with 33 points on 13-of-25 shooting, while McDaniels (16 points and nine rebounds) and Layman (13 points and seven rebounds) provided respectable contributions. Minnesota struggled to contain Utah’s star players, however, also letting the Jazz shoot 16-of-39 (41%) from deep.
“He’s shooting at a high level from three and getting a lot of good looks and staying really committed to it,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said of Beasley, whose 33 points led all scorers in the game. “There’s no second-guessing his shot. He’s locked in. He’s been really, really good. Mostly it’s just his shot selection is leading to good shots.”
Here are some other notes from the Northwest tonight:
- Jazz star Donovan Mitchell will miss the team’s upcoming two-game road trip due to a lower back strain, Sarah Todd of the Deseret News tweets. Mitchell will stay in Salt Lake City and receive treatment. Utah plays in San Antonio on Monday and Portland on Wednesday.
- The Nuggets have reasons to be optimistic when Jamal Murray returns from a torn ACL, Mike Singer of the Denver Post writes. Denver has a championship-caliber roster on paper, but the team has struggled to stay healthy in recent seasons. The club ranks sixth in the Western Conference at 15-16.
- Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic has improved from his 2020/21 Most Valuable Player season, Singer writes in a separate article for the Denver Post. In 26 games this season, Jokic has averaged 25.9 points, 13.5 rebounds and 7.2 assists, shooting 58% from the floor and 37% from deep.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone has tempered expectations about Jamal Murray‘s return date, Mike Singer of the Denver Post tweets. Malone said on a radio interview with 92.5 FM Altitude Sports that fans shouldn’t expect to see Murray return from his knee injury in January or February. The organization is taking it very cautious with their franchise point guard.
Following his first-hand experience with COVID-19, Nuggets guard Austin Rivers is worried about the increased effect it’s having on the league, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Rivers, who was asymptomatic at first, eventually developed body aches, headaches and breathing issues. He was able to return to the court Friday and expressed concern about the toll the virus is taking on many rosters.
“It’s getting a little bit out of hand in the NBA, to be honest with you,” Rivers said. “I don’t know what we gotta do, whether it’s go back to limiting who’s in the arena, or we gotta test every day. We definitely gotta go back, obviously, to testing every day. I think that’s what we’re doing. The numbers are just getting scary at this point. They’ve got all types of variants.”
Rivers played in the bubble setting in Orlando at the end of the 2019/20 season and said no one wants to bring that back. The Nuggets have emphasized responsible behavior to their players and staff members, but Rivers fears that the virus may be uncontrollable.
“What can we do to minimize chances of spread?” he said. “The problem is, a lot of this is on the onus of what you do when you leave the facility. No matter if we test, or mask, no mask, fans, no fans, at the end of the day, when guys go home, you don’t know what they’re doing, you don’t know whether they’re going out. … You’re gonna stop guys from going out? It’s impossible.”
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- Rookie guard Bones Hyland said he learned a lesson after being benched for the Nuggets‘ game on Wednesday because of a violation of team rules, Singer adds in a separate story. Hyland and coach Michael Malone didn’t reveal any details about the infraction, but they both indicated it’s part of learning how to be an NBA player. “We’re a better team when Bones Hyland is available,” Malone said Friday. “He knows that. This is a learning process for all young men. Tonight, he’s back with the team, he learned his lesson, and he helps us get a really important road win.”
- The Thunder pulled Darius Bazley from the starting lineup Saturday for the first time since he was a rookie, tweets Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. Coach Mark Daigneault said Bazley accepted the decision “professionally” when he was told about it (Twitter link). “Anytime we make a decision, it’s under the presumption that it’s going to work,” Daigneault said. “If we didn’t think this had the potential to kickstart him and help him reach the capability he has a player, we wouldn’t do it.” (Twitter link)
- The Timberwolves need another big man next to Karl-Anthony Towns and should be aggressive about pursuing Pacers center Myles Turner, contends La Velle E. Neal III of The Star-Tribune.
12:30pm: The NBA has officially postponed three games on Sunday: Cavs-Hawks, Nets-Nuggets, and Pelicans-Sixers, the league announced (via Twitter).
11:30am: The NBA has decided to postpone tonight’s game between the Cavaliers and Hawks, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The contest between the Nets and Nuggets has been called off as well, Woj adds (Twitter link), and others may be in jeopardy, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The league is still considering whether to postpone tonight’s matchup between the Pelicans and Sixers, Wojnarowski tweets.
The news comes amid another day of numerous players being put into health and safety protocols, including Cleveland center Jarrett Allen and four of his teammates, along with Atlanta All-Star guard Trae Young. Philadelphia lost Andre Drummond and Shake Milton and already has a depleted roster.
COVID-19 forced multiple postponements last season, especially early on, but the league was able to avoid any schedule interruptions until earlier this week when the short-handed Bulls had games postponed against the Pistons and Raptors.
Multiple teams have seen their rosters decimated by the virus over the past few days, so more postponements could be coming. It’s particularly distressing for the league that this outbreak is happening so close to Christmas Day, which is an annual showcase. Among the teams scheduled to play on December 25, the Knicks, Celtics, Bucks, Nets and Lakers are especially short-handed.
DECEMBER 19: The move is official, the Nuggets announced (via Twitter).
DECEMBER 18: The Nuggets are re-signing guard Davon Reed to another 10-day contract via the hardship exemption, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
The exemption has been granted to teams with COVID-19 and/or injury issues. It allows a team to add a 16th player to its standard “15-man” roster without waiving anyone.
According to our latest count, the team still has two players in health and safety protocols, though one (Michael Porter Jr.) is injured. The other player still sidelined by protocols is Bol Bol. They also have two other players out of action due to long-term injuries.
Reed signed on December 4. He’s averaged 3.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG and 1.5 SPG in 16.5 MPG while appearing in six games.
Reed had previously been playing for the team’s new G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold. A 2017 second-rounder, Reed appeared in 21 games for Phoenix during the 2017/18 season and 1o more for Indiana the following season. In seven games with the Gold, he averaged 12.7 PPG, 6.6 RPG and 3.8 APG.
Nuggets guard Markus Howard, who left Wednesday’s loss to Minnesota in the fourth quarter due to a left knee injury, has been diagnosed with a sprained knee and will be reevaluated in six weeks, the team announced today (via Twitter).
While it’s a relief that Howard didn’t sustain a more significant injury, it’s still tough news for the second-year guard, who is playing on a two-way contract with Denver for a second consecutive year.
After logging limited minutes in 37 games as a rookie in 2020/21, Howard has averaged 4.3 PPG on .355/.391/.875 shooting in 16 games (7.3 MPG) this season. He had recently entered the team’s regular rotation, averaging 16.7 MPG in the last three games, so the timing is unfortunate — he’ll likely have to earn those minutes back when he eventually returns to action.
Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter links) notes that Howard’s absence could reopen the door for the Nuggets to be granted a hardship exception, since Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., and PJ Dozier are also out with long-term injuries. In that scenario, Denver could circle back to Davon Reed, who made a positive impression during his 10 days with the club earlier this month, says Singer.
According to Singer (Twitter link), the Nuggets have also placed Porter in the health and safety protocols. That won’t have any tangible effect on the team’s lineup or rotation, since MPJ is expected to remain on the shelf all season as he recovers from back surgery.
After placing forward Ignas Brazdeikis in the health and safety protocols on Thursday evening, the Magic canceled their morning shootaround and have had three more players enter the protocols today, per Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter links). A source tells Price that Terrence Ross, Moritz Wagner, and R.J. Hampton have joined Brazdeikis in the protocols and will be out on Friday vs. Miami.
Since vaccinated players haven’t been required to undergo daily testing for COVID-19 this season, those players have only been tested when they show symptoms of the virus or when they’ve been in close contact with someone who has tested positive. If Brazdeikis tested positive on Thursday, it likely prompted a round of testing for the entire roster.
Assuming Brazdeikis, Ross, Wagner, and Hampton have tested positive for the coronavirus, they’ll be out for the next 10 days or until they register two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart.
Orlando becomes the seventh team to have at least four players currently in the health and safety protocols, joining the Nets, Bulls, Lakers, Bucks, Knicks, and Kings. Orlando is also missing several players due to longer-term injuries, including Jalen Suggs, Markelle Fultz, Jonathan Isaac, Michael Carter-Williams, and E’Twaun Moore, raising questions about whether tonight’s game vs. the Heat may need to be postponed.
It’s possible the Magic will have the minimum number of players available, but their current group of eight players includes Cole Anthony, Mohamed Bamba, and Gary Harris, all of whom are listed as questionable due to various ailments. Although the team is eligible to sign multiple free agents via the hardship exception, there may not be time before tip-off on Friday night to incorporate any new players.
Meanwhile, over in the Western Conference, Nuggets forward Bol Bol has reentered the health and safety protocols, according to Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link). Bol spent several days in the protocols earlier this month.
- Nuggets guard Bones Hyland was held out of Wednesday’s game for a violation of team rules, but will be available on Friday in Atlanta, according to reports from Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports and Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter links).
In the latest episode of the HoopsHype Podcast, Michael Scotto said he’s heard the Pelicans discussed a deal with the Sixers that would’ve seen New Orleans give up a series of first-round picks and swaps in exchange for Ben Simmons. The 76ers have been seeking an All-Star caliber player in any Simmons deal, but Scotto says Brandon Ingram wasn’t included in those discussions.
The Pelicans do have an excess of first-rounders as a result of their Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday trades. However, I imagine Philadelphia would want to turn those picks into players who could make an immediate impact, rather than simply loading up for the future. So perhaps a third team would be necessary in order for the Pelicans and Sixers to make real progress.
Scotto and his guest, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, talked about a handful of other trade rumors from around the NBA during the podcast. Here are some of the highlights:
- Following up on his report about the Lakers internally discussing the possibility of trading Russell Westbrook, Fischer says the team’s only outgoing call in which Westbrook’s name may have come up was to the Sixers about Simmons. “The conversation pretty much was, ‘We’re interested in Ben. How would we get there?'” Fischer explained. “The obvious solution is Russell Westbrook. He’s not a player on that Sixers list that they have.”
- Fischer also said he received some push-back from Brooklyn about his report that the Nets may be open to moving sharpshooter Joe Harris. “Perhaps, teams who had early conversations with Brooklyn about Joe and they didn’t categorically shut them down, maybe that’s all this was,” Fischer said.
- Addressing Shams Charania’s recent report that the Magic want a first-round pick for Terrence Ross, Scotto says some executives have talked about being open to giving up two second-rounders for the veteran swingman. However, Scotto’s not sure that would “move the needle” for Orlando. As I noted on Monday, Ross is under contract through 2022/23, so there’s no urgency for the Magic to move him.
- Fischer has heard that before the Nuggets agreed to send R.J. Hampton the Magic as part of the Aaron Gordon trade in March, they were trying to include Bol Bol in Hampton’s place.