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Injury Notes: Heat, Lillard, VanVleet, Coulibaly, Yabusele

April 3rd, 2025 at 6:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Heat forward Andrew Wiggins will miss his fourth consecutive game on Thursday due to right hamstring tendinopathy, but another Miami forward, Duncan Robinson, will make his return vs. Memphis, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

Robinson hasn’t played since March 23, having been sidelined for the club’s past five contests due to a back problem. However, he feels “a lot better,” according to head coach Erik Spoelstra, who reiterated that the injury is different than the one the veteran sharpshooter dealt with at the end of last season (Twitter link via Chiang).

In addition to being without Wiggins, the Heat will still be missing Kevin Love (personal reasons), as well as Terry Rozier, who is listed as out due to an illness, but neither player has been a regular rotation contributor since the All-Star break anyway.

Here are a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:

  • The Bucks decided against bringing Damian Lillard on their three-game road trip that begins Thursday in Philadelphia, but head coach Doc Rivers is increasingly optimistic about the guard’s ability to return before the end of the season, as Eric Nehm of The Athletic relays (Twitter link). Lillard was diagnosed last month with a blood clot in his calf. “He had a great report the other day…the numbers are phenomenal,” Rivers said. “‘Why mess with it?’ was our thing. Why fly him or anything? It could affect (his progress). … We have much more hope today than we did three days ago, I can tell you that. And so, we’re going to take everything that we can do to see if there is a way we can get him back.”
  • Rockets point guard Fred VanVleet didn’t suit up on Wednesday for the victory that clinched Houston its first playoff spot since 2020, having sat out due to knee and ankle soreness. VanVleet had played in the Rockets’ previous 11 games and should be back in the lineup in short order, but that ankle issue, which forced him to miss 16 games in February and March, likely won’t clear up anytime soon. “It’s going to take some time,” head coach Ime Udoka said, per ESPN. “We will have to deal with it the rest of the season, coming off the injury.”
  • The Wizards didn’t formally rule out Bilal Coulibaly for the rest of the season when they announced on March 13 that he’d miss about four-to-six weeks due to a right hamstring strain. However, head coach Brian Keefe acknowledged on Thursday that the second-year forward will “probably not” be back before the team wraps up its regular season schedule, as Varun Shankar of The Washington Post tweets.
  • After missing a pair of games with a right knee sprain, Sixers forward/center Guerschon Yabusele will be activated for Thursday’s matchup with Milwaukee, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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Dillon Brooks Receives 16th Technical, Suspended One Game

April 3rd, 2025 at 2:45pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

April 3: The NBA put out a press release (Twitter link) confirming that Brooks will be suspended for one game without pay. He will serve the suspension tomorrow against the Thunder, as noted below.

April 2: Rockets forward Dillon Brooks has been hit with his 16th technical foul of the 2024/25 season after kicking Jazz guard Collin Sexton during Wednesday’s game between Houston and Utah, per Bleacher Report (Twitter video link).

By league rule, Brooks’ 16th technical will result in a one-game suspension for the veteran swingman, Bleacher Report notes, unless the NBA rescinds the call.

Sexton was defending Brooks as the Rockets wing pivoted into the post. Brooks leapt up and dropped the ball in what looked like an effort to sell a foul call against Sexton, but in so doing appeared to kick Sexton in a sensitive area.

Houston can ill afford to lose Brooks at all, as the club strives to hold on to its No. 2 overall seed in a very crowded Western Conference playoff picture.

At 49-27, the Rockets are currently just two games ahead of the No. 3 Nuggets, and 2.5 games in front of the No. 4 Lakers. The 44-31 Warriors and 44-32 Grizzlies aren’t far behind, either. With six games left in the Rockets’ season, the young team still has to work to do to secure its playoff seed.

When he isn’t caught fouling the opposition, the 29-year-old Brooks is a highly valuable piece on both sides of the ball. Through 72 games this year, the 2023 All-Defensive Teamer is averaging 13.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 0.8 steals per night, with a .422/.395/.824 shooting line.

Assuming Brooks’ 16th technical isn’t rescinded, he’d serve his suspension on Friday vs. Oklahoma City. If he accumulates two more techs before the end of the regular season, that would result in another one-game ban.

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Rockets Clinch Playoff Spot, Southwest Division

April 2nd, 2025 at 9:49pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

In blowing out the Jazz, 143-105, on Wednesday, the Rockets earned their 50th win of the 2024/25 season and locked in a top-six playoff seed in the Western Conference. Houston also secured the Southwest Division crown with the victory.

With no starter playing more than 29 minutes in a dominant win over the rebuilding Jazz, Houston was paced by Jalen Green‘s 22 points on 7-of-15 shooting. All-Star Rockets center Alperen Sengun and reserve forward Jabari Smith Jr. each notched 15-point, 14-rebound double-doubles. Sengun was also one assist shy of a triple-double.

Houston didn’t emerge from the contest totally unscathed, however. Starting wing Dillon Brooks incurred his 16th technical foul of the season for kicking Utah guard Collin Sexton in an inconvenient place, and will net a one-game suspension unless the tech is rescinded.

In their second season under head coach Ime Udoka, the Rockets have returned to the playoffs for the first time in five years. This iteration of the club is quite different from the club’s last playoff team.

Young talents like Sengun, Green, Smith, Tari Eason and Amen Thompson will get their first postseason run, and will be supported in that effort by playoff-seasoned pros like Brooks and Fred VanVleet. It will be fascinating to see how this relatively inexperienced squad might stack up in a battle with one of the West’s more veteran-heavy playoff teams.

At present, Houston is the No. 2 seed in the West. Only six games separate the Rockets from the West’s No. 8 seed, the 43-32 Clippers. Houston is also just 2.5 games better by record than the 47-29 Nuggets, and three games better than the 45-29 Lakers, so the Rockets’ seed and first-round opponent remain very much up in the air.

Houston hardly has an easy road for its final six games of the 2024/25 regular season. The Rockets will face off against only postseason-bound West rivals, with two games against the Warriors, two games against the Clippers, and matchups with the Lakers and the top-seeded Thunder left on the docket.

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Pacific Notes: Durant, Hield, Morant, Curry, Kawhi

April 2nd, 2025 at 3:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Asked on Wednesday during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show (Twitter video link) about possible offseason trade destinations for Kevin Durant, ESPN’s Shams Charania said there was mutual interest between the Suns‘ star and a handful of potential suitors ahead of February’s trade deadline. According to Charania, that list of teams included the Timberwolves, Knicks, Rockets, Spurs, and Heat.

“Those are the types of teams, from my understanding, that had interest then,” Charania said. “And I expect them all to be in the mix this offseason.”

Charania didn’t explicitly mention the Warriors, but that’s likely due to the fact that Durant was known to be resistant to a Golden State reunion in February. If his stance changes this summer, it’s possible the Warriors could once again emerge as a suitor.

One report this week suggested that Durant is open to the idea of returning to Phoenix next season, but a trade still appears to be the most likely outcome. Unlike in February when the Suns unilaterally gauged the market for the veteran forward without consulting him, the team and Durant’s camp would likely work together on any deal this offseason, Charania notes.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

  • The NBA is looking into an incident from Tuesday’s Warriors/Grizzlies game when Golden State sharpshooter Buddy Hield and Memphis guard Ja Morant aimed finger-gun gestures at one another, according to Charania and Tim MacMahon of ESPN. A video of that brief interaction can be found here (via Twitter). The NBA has fined players for that gesture in the past and is likely especially sensitive to this case since Morant has been suspended twice in the past for waving around an actual gun in social media videos.
  • Stephen Curry racked up 52 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, and five steals in the Warriors‘ win over Memphis on Tuesday and told reporters after the game that he feels rejuvenated after taking a week off to recover from a pelvic injury in March, per ESPN. “I feel in a good rhythm,” Curry said. “The week off helped. The tank is pretty full.” Steve Kerr said a couple weeks ago that he wanted to get Curry some rest, but the Warriors coach no longer seems as concerned about his star guard’s condition. “I think (the week off) helped and I think two rounds of golf on this road trip helped,” Kerr said, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
  • After missing the first two-plus months of the season while recovering from a knee procedure and then playing on a minutes limit for several more weeks after that, Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard has recaptured his All-NBA form, having averaged 25.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.8 steals per game with a .521/.397/.825 shooting line in 13 March outings. Law Murray of The Athletic takes a look at Leonard’s resurgence and the 33-year-old’s desire to enter the offseason healthy.
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NBA Announces Finalists For Sportsmanship, Teammate Of The Year Awards

April 2nd, 2025 at 2:28pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA announced the 2024/25 finalists for a pair of awards on Wednesday, naming the six players who are eligible to win the Sportsmanship Award for this season, as well as the 12 players who are in the running to be named Teammate of the Year.

The Sportsmanship Award honors the player who “best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court,” per the NBA. Each of the league’s 30 teams nominated one of its players for the award, then a panel of league executives narrows that group to six finalists (one from each division) and current players voted for the winner.

The trophy for the Sportsmanship Award is named after Joe Dumars, the Hall-of-Fame guard who won the inaugural award back in ’95/96. This season’s finalists are as follows (via Twitter):

Holiday is the only one of this year’s finalists for the Sportsmanship Award who has earned the honor in the past — he won it in 2021. Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey won the award last season.

Meanwhile, the NBA also announced its finalists for the Teammate of the Year award for 2024/25. According to the league, the player selected for the honor is “deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team.”

The voting process is similar to the Sportsmanship Award — a panel of league executives selects 12 finalists (six from each conference) for the award, then current players vote on the winner.

Holiday is a three-time Teammate of the Year, while Timberwolves guard Mike Conley has also won the award twice, including in 2024. However, neither of those veterans is a finalist this season.

The Teammate of the Year finalists are as follows (via Twitter):

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Award Candidates Who Still Need To Reach 65-Game Mark

April 2nd, 2025 at 12:59pm CST by Luke Adams

There are just 12 days left in the 2024/25 regular season, which means time is running out for certain end-of-season award candidates to meet the 65-game minimum to qualify for consideration.

A player doesn’t need to reach that 65-game mark in order to be eligible for Sixth Man of the Year, Rookie of the Year, or All-Rookie teams, but it’s a necessary requirement for most of the marquee awards: Most Valuable Player, All-NBA, Defensive Player of the Year, All-Defense, and Most Improved Player.

According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), the following players who could be in the mix for one or more of those awards haven’t yet met the 65-game criteria, but still have a chance to do so:

In some cases, a player’s actual games played total doesn’t match up with the figure noted above. That’s because in order for a game to count before the 65-game minimum, the player must be on the court for at least 20 minutes. A player is also permitted to count a maximum of two games between 15 and 20 minutes toward that minimum.

Let’s use Mobley as an example. The Cavaliers big man has technically appeared in 66 games this season, but he played just 12 minutes in one of those games, 18 minutes in two of them, and 19 minutes in one. That means he only has 64 games that actually count toward the minimum — all 62 games in which he played 20-plus minutes, along with two of those games between 15-20 minutes.

Mobley will have to play at least 20 minutes once more this season in order to be eligible for awards like Defensive Player of the Year, All-Defense, and All-NBA. Given that he’s healthy and the Cavs still have seven games left on their schedule, Mobley should have no problem meeting that requirement. But it’ll be a taller order for some of the other players on this list.

Durant is currently sidelined with an ankle sprain and has been ruled out for at least two more games. He would have to play 20-plus minutes in three of the Suns‘ final four games to be award-eligible. Brunson, on the shelf due to his own ankle sprain, is in a similar boat, though the Knicks guard has a chance to return before Durant does.

Lillard, who is out indefinitely after being diagnosed with a blood clot in his calf, seems pretty unlikely to play in six of the Bucks‘ last seven games. Holiday is healthy but has no wiggle room to miss any of the Celtics‘ remaining seven games.

Many of this year’s other top award contenders have already met the 65-game criteria. Nuggets center Nikola Jokic did so in style on Tuesday night — his 65th game of the season was an incredible 61-point triple-double in a 140-139 double-overtime loss to Minnesota.

However, according to the latest straw poll conducted by Tim Bontemps of ESPN, Jokic is the clear runner-up to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (who has played 72 games) in the MVP race. Of the 100 media members polled by Bontemps, 77 picked the Thunder guard as their Most Valuable Player, while just 23 chose Jokic. The three-time MVP may need a couple more performances like Tuesday’s in order to close that gap by the end of the season.

Besides Jokic, one other notable player who has narrowly eclipsed the 65-game minimum is Cade Cunningham. The Pistons guard has missed four games in a row with a left calf injury and is considered doubtful to return on Wednesday, but he played his 65th game on March 19, prior to his recent absence.

That’s especially important for Cunningham and the Pistons because, as Bontemps notes, the fourth-year guard is considered a virtual lock to earn a spot on one of this year’s All-NBA teams, which will ensure that his maximum-salary rookie scale extension begins at 30% of the 2025/26 salary cap instead of 25%. That would increase the overall projected value of Cunningham’s five-year deal from $224.2MM to $269.1MM.

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And-Ones: P. Gasol, Head Coaches, Tanking, Incentives

April 1st, 2025 at 10:33am CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA star Pau Gasol is gaining momentum to become the CEO of the NBA’s proposed European league, according to a report from Eurohoops. Citing Gasol’s “strong links” to both the NBA and European basketball, a league source tells Eurohoops that the idea of the Spaniard taking on the CEO role for the new league has “universal approval” among the NBA’s governors.

A six-time All-Star and two-time champion in the NBA, Gasol played for FC Barcelona at the start and the end of his professional career, winning Spanish League championships in 1999, 2001, and 2021. He also compiled a lengthy list of accomplishments in international tournaments, winning three Olympic medals (two silvers, one bronze), a World Cup title, and three EuroBasket championships with Spain’s national team.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • The Grizzlies and Kings currently employ interim head coaches and will be looking to name a permanent coach after the season. Tim Bontemps of ESPN breaks down the pros and cons of the jobs in Memphis and Sacramento, while Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report considers which other head coaches might be on the hot seat this spring, including Willie Green of the Pelicans and Chauncey Billups of the Trail Blazers.
  • Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic is the latest NBA writer to propose suggestions for how the league could address its tanking problem. Vorkunov’s ideas include having the lottery determine the top eight picks (instead of four), further flattening the lottery odds, and automatically assigning the two worst teams the fourth and fifth overall picks.
  • ESPN’s Bobby Marks highlights some incentive clauses in player contracts to keep an eye on during the season’s final two weeks, including Rockets forward Dillon Brooks ($1MM) and Timberwolves forward Julius Randle ($1.4MM) getting bonuses for their teams making the playoffs. Magic forward Jonathan Isaac must appear in at least four of Orlando’s final six games to reach the 70-game threshold, which would assure him of a $2.6MM bonus, Marks notes.
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Jalen Green, Paolo Banchero Named Players Of The Week

March 31st, 2025 at 2:39pm CST by Luke Adams

Rockets guard Jalen Green has been named the Player of the Week for the Western Conference for the week of March 24-30, while Magic forward Paolo Banchero has won the award for the Eastern Conference, the NBA announced today (via Twitter).

It’s the third time Green has earned Player of the Week honors in his career, including the second time this season. He was recognized for leading Houston to a 3-0 week that included victories over Atlanta, Utah, and Phoenix. The former No. 2 overall pick averaged 28.7 points per game on 50.8% shooting (40.9% on threes) while also contributing 7.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per contest.

Banchero was named Player of the Week once during his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2022/23, but this is the first time he has claimed the award since then. His Magic went 3-1 week last week and the former No. 1 overall pick led the way with 30.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.3 assists in 35.8 minutes per game.

Banchero is the second Orlando forward to earn Player of the Week honors this season, joining Franz Wagner, who was recognized in November. Houston has also had multiple players win the award in 2024/25, as Alperen Sengun achieved the feat in December.

Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, James Harden, and Green’s teammate Alperen Sengun were the other Player of the Week nominees in the West (Twitter link). OG Anunoby, Scottie Barnes, Josh Giddey, Coby White, Tyrese Haliburton, Tyler Herro, and Donovan Mitchell were nominated in the East.

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Community Shootaround: Western Conference Playoff Race

March 30th, 2025 at 12:01pm CST by Rory Maher

The Thunder already secured the top seed in the Western Conference and seem on their way to clinching the top overall seed entering the 2025 playoffs. However, the five remaining guaranteed playoff spots in the West are still up for grabs.

The Rockets have been playing excellent basketball over the past few weeks and have surged up to No. 2 in the West with a 48-26 record. Only a catastrophic collapse would prevent them from earning a top-six seed, as they hold a 5.5-game lead on the No. 7 Warriors with eight games remaining.

The Nuggets, who are currently the No. 3 seed with a 47-28 record, are also in a strong position to earn a guaranteed playoff berth, as they’re four games up on Golden State with seven games remaining. It’s worth noting that Houston and Denver have among the most difficult remaining schedules, per Tankathon, but both clubs have a decent cushion on their closest competitors.

Saturday’s game between the Lakers and Grizzlies was a key matchup for both teams. The No. 4 Lakers (45-29) emerged victorious and earned the head-to-head tiebreaker on the No. 5 Grizzlies (44-30).

Even after the win though, the Lakers are just 5-8 over their past 13 games. They also have the second-hardest remaining schedule of any team, including four matchups against Oklahoma City and Houston over their final eight games.

The slumping Grizzlies are just 1.5 games ahead of the Clippers and Warriors, who hold identical 42-31 records, and two games up on the No. 8 Timberwolves (42-32). The Clips hold the tiebreaker on the Dubs, which is why they’re currently the No. 6 seed.

To word it in a different way: Only three games separate the Nos. 4-8 seeds in the West. And by opponent winning percentage, Minnesota has — by far — the easiest schedule left of the group.

Of the five teams bunched together in the standings, the Clippers and Warriors are the only ones with nine games left; the other three each have eight.

Securing a top-six seed is critical, as it ensures teams will make the playoffs outright. Those who fall outside of the top six will have to compete in the play-in tournament to try and claim the final two playoff spots in the West. Dallas, Sacramento and Phoenix are essentially in a three-way race for the ninth and tenth seeds and thus the final two spots in the play-in.

We want to know what you think. Aside from the Thunder, which other five teams will secure top-six seeds in the West? Which teams will be heading to the play-in tournament? Head to the comments section to weigh in.

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Redd Sheppard Ready To Return From Fractured Thumb

March 29th, 2025 at 8:41pm CST by Arthur Hill
  • After missing 11 straight games with a fractured right thumb, Rockets rookie guard Reed Sheppard has been upgraded to questionable for Sunday’s contest, according to Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle. Sheppard has been struggling to earn playing time all season, and he’s not guaranteed any minutes as Houston tries to hold on to second place in the West. “We’ll see,” coach Ime Udoka said. “(The rotation) does tighten toward the end of the season, for sure, and kind of implementing him back in there in these last eight (games) might be tough with the time he’s missed. But we also do want to see him get some live action. So whether he gets some practices in the G League or whatever it is to get that in, being that we don’t do as much here, we’ll see.”
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