- T.J. McConnell is still pushing hard as the Pacers’ season winds down, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star notes. McConnell has hit double figures in six consecutive games, including a 21-point performance against Oklahoma City on Friday in which he also added nine rebounds and eight assists. “He’s a unique player that has a unique style of play, but I just think he’s one of the most unusual competitors that I’ve ever seen in the NBA,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “He just brings an exuberance and a defiance that is a big part of what we’re doing and what we’re building.”
Rick Carlisle said Gabe York deserved to get promoted to a two-way deal with the Pacers, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files reports. York made a brief appearance in the NBA last season and has spent this season with the G League Fort Wayne Mad Ants. York wasn’t active for Friday’s game, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star tweets.
“Loyalty and consistency should be rewarded,” the Pacers coach said. “So this is a decision that came down, obviously ownership has to approve it, but management and the coaching staff were completely in agreement that Gabe deserved this opportunity. It’s great for him, it’s great for us.”
Pistons center James Wiseman is going to make it a priority this offseason to improve his strength with a weightlifting regimen, per head coach Dwane Casey (Twitter link via Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press).
First selected with the No. 2 pick out of Memphis in 2020, Wiseman failed to find his footing with the Warriors and was flipped to Detroit at the trade deadline in a four-team transaction. Since being sent to the rebuilding Pistons, the seven-footer has enjoyed a much more active role, averaging 13.4 PPG on 55.2% shooting, along with 8.7 RPG and 0.8 BPG across 26.0 MPG.
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- Bucks two-way rookie guard A.J. Green has an interesting history with Milwaukee as a city, as Lori Nickel of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes. His father, Kyle Green, served as an assistant coach at Marquette during the 2003/04 NCAA season. Kyle Green left his post to become a head coach at Lewis University in Chicago. The Iowa Barnstormers, A.J. Green’s AAU team, meanwhile, played at a tournament in Milwaukee while he was in high school. “I had an idea of what the city was like,” A.J. said. “Obviously, good basketball, good players, and good people. I knew that Milwaukee liked me, but it was not a sure thing. I’m so glad it was here.”
- Bulls head coach Billy Donovan has faced some criticism for an underwhelming season, but he’s earning praise from several of his best players, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “He’s definitely underrated, underappreciated on the outside,’’ All-Star DeMar DeRozan said. ‘‘He’s easy-going, and as much as he’s locked into the game and pays attention to the small things, it’s incredible. His play-calling, his schemes — he puts a lot into the game that too many people don’t see.’’ At 36-40, the Bulls are currently the tenth seed in the East and are on the cusp of a play-in tournament berth.
- Pacers All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton and sharpshooting center Myles Turner could be shut down for the rest of the season, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. “They’ll be listed however they’re listed game-to-game,” head coach Rick Carlisle said following a team practice today. “If you’re asking if it’s possible that they don’t play anymore, yeah, it’s possible. It’s not impossible that one of them would play, but we’re going game to game with it.” Turner has missed the team’s last three games with a sore left ankle and sore lower back, while Haliburton has been absent for the last two due to a right ankle sprain and sore left elbow. Indiana is currently 3.5 games behind the Bulls for the No. 10 seed in the East.
The Pacers have signed guard Gabe York to their open two-way spot after waiving Trevelin Queen on Wednesday, the team announced in a press release.
Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files was the first to report that Indiana was expected to sign York.
After going undrafted out of Arizona in 2016, York spent time in the G League and made international stops in Germany, Greece, Israel and Italy before joining the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Pacers’ G League affiliate, last season. He signed a two-way contract with Indiana to end 2021/22 and made his NBA debut last April, appearing in two games for a total of 21 minutes.
The 29-year-old signed an Exhibit 10 deal with Indiana during preseason to get a bonus before being waived, and has spent the entire ’22/23 season with the Mad Ants, putting up impressive numbers in both the Showcase Cup and the NBAGL regular season.
In 17 games (31.6 MPG) during the Showcase Cup, he averaged 23.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.4 steals on .452/.382/.818 shooting, and in 27 regular season games (34.6 MPG), he put up 21.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.7 steals on a .450/.401/.818 slash line.
York’s strong performances led to him earning a spot in last month’s Next Up Game (essentially the NBAGL’s version of the All-Star game). The Pacers’ 17-man roster is now full.
Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant missed Tuesday’s game vs. Orlando due to right thigh soreness, but there are no long-term concerns about the injury, writes Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. It sounds like the team was simply playing it safe with Morant, who recently returned from an eight-game absence and will be available on Wednesday for the second game of a back-to-back set.
While Morant will suit up on Wednesday, the Grizzlies may give a few other regulars the night off when they host the Clippers. According to the team (Twitter link), Desmond Bane (right foot soreness), Jaren Jackson Jr. (left calf soreness), and Tyus Jones (left foot soreness) are all considered doubtful to play.
Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:
- Two teams still in the thick of the Western Conference play-in race won’t have their All-Stars available on Wednesday. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (left ankle sprain) will miss a second consecutive game when the Thunder host the Pistons, per Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman (Twitter link), while forward Lauri Markkanen (left hand contusion) won’t play for the Jazz in San Antonio, according to Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link).
- Jarrett Allen (right groin strain) and Isaac Okoro (left knee soreness) missed Tuesday’s game for the Cavaliers, but Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com hears their absences were precautionary, with the team having already clinched its playoff spot. “Isaac is extremely disappointed because Isaac wanted to play all 82 games,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “But this is something where just big picture we need to make sure we take care of him. We know how important he is and how impactful he can be for us. So, you just have to keep an eye on him. Isaac will keep running through a wall if you don’t pull him back some. We’re trying to do our best to protect him.”
- Tyrese Haliburton (right ankle sprain; left elbow soreness), Buddy Hield (non-COVID illness), and Chris Duarte (left ankle soreness) will all be unavailable for the Pacers on Wednesday vs. Milwaukee for a second consecutive game, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Myles Turner, who has missed the last two games due to left ankle soreness, is listed as questionable.
The Pacers have officially waived guard Trevelin Queen, the team announced today in a press release. Queen had been on a two-way contract with Indiana.
The G League’s reigning MVP, Queen signed with the Sixers last summer, but was waived during the preseason and caught on with the Pacers on a two-way deal a few days later. He spent nearly the entire season with the team, though his NBA playing time was extremely limited — he appeared in just seven games with Indiana.
Queen once again put up big numbers at the G League level in 2022/23, including averages of 23.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 2.3 steals per game in 11 Showcase Cup contests (35.7 MPG) for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. In 24 NBAGL regular season games, he put up 22.6 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 4.5 APG, and 2.1 SPG. He was named as a participant in the Next Up Game at All-Star weekend.
Queen did have some issues with three-point shooting (26.5% on 7.1 attempts per regular season game) and turnovers (3.8 per game) in the G League this season. He also earned a one-game suspension earlier this week for “directing threatening language” toward a referee, which may have been a factor in the Pacers’ decision to release him. He served that suspension on Tuesday during the one-game Eastern Conference quarterfinal, which Fort Wayne lost, ending the team’s season.
The Pacers now have an open two-way slot, which they could fill at any point up until the last day of the regular season on April 9.
- Pacers sharpshooter Buddy Hield was sidelined for Monday’s game due to a non-COVID illness, marking just the fourth time since he entered the NBA in 2016 that he has missed a game, writes Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. Hield started Indiana’s first 73 games this season, but has come off the bench since then so that the team can get a look at different lineup combinations, with an eye toward next season, tweets Agness.
- Pacers All-Star Tyrese Haliburton will return to action on Friday against Boston, but second-year wing Chris Duarte will miss his fifth straight game with an ankle sprain, tweets Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. As Dopriak writes in a full story, Haliburton was a full participant in Friday’s shootaround. The third-year guard had missed the previous six games with knee and ankle injuries.
Pacers guard George Hill was told when he was traded from Milwaukee to Indiana at last month’s deadline that he wouldn’t play much for his new team and that he’d be mostly counted on as a veteran leader, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. That was fine by Hill, who referred to himself as a “team-first guy” and is happy to be playing for his hometown club.
“(Pacers coach) Rick (Carlisle) has done a great job of being open and honest,” Hill said. “When I first got here, he said, you know, ‘We’re developing right now and we want our young guys to get some meaningful minutes, but it doesn’t mean you’re not going to play at all. I want you to still be a leader on and off the court. Show these guys what hard work and a good teammate is and just stay ready at all times.'”
Hill’s 15 years of NBA experience have made him an ideal mentor for All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who says the 36-year-old holds him accountable “every day.” Hill describes Haliburton as a “shining star” and has expressed a desire to continue backing him up beyond this season, if possible.
“Like I tell everybody, I don’t want to be here as a rental,” said Hill, who was born and raised in Indianapolis. “I would love to be here for a while and watch this thing grow to what I think it could be. I’m on board with whatever they need me to do and I’m all in.”
Here’s more from around the Central:
- Like Hill in Indiana, Pistons wing Rodney McGruder is on Detroit’s roster more for his locker-room presence than his production on the court. However, due to injuries, he has started the team’s last eight games and is playing a regular rotation role for the first time this season. James L. Edwards III of The Athletic explores McGruder’s on- and off-court contributions and digs into why he’s so respected by the Pistons’ young players.
- The Pacers made history on Wednesday when they became the first NBA team to have three Canadian-born players (Bennedict Mathurin, Andrew Nembhard, and Oshae Brissett) in their starting lineup. And they did it in Canada, in a road game vs. the Raptors, as Dopirak writes for The Indianapolis Star. “Historic night for Canada basketball,” Carlisle said. “… For it to happen in Toronto, it’s pretty cool.”
- Jamal Collier of ESPN explores the lessons the Cavaliers learned from last season’s second-half collapse and why the club is more confident in its chances of making some noise in the postseason this spring.
- Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic identifies the seven members of the Bulls most impacted by Lonzo Ball‘s uncertain future. Mayberry’s picks range from center Nikola Vucevic, whose free agency decision this summer could be influenced by Ball’s long-term absence, to president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas, whose questionable roster decisions are increasingly under the microscope.
Pacers swingman Buddy Hield has been fined $25K by the NBA, the league announced in a press release (Twitter link).
The 6’4″ small forward was penalized for “making an obscene [hand] gesture on the playing court,” early in the second quarter of an eventual 115-109 March 20 loss to the Hornets, the press release states. Tony East of Sports Illustrated (Twitter video link) pinpointed the moment of the incident, which occurred while Hield was taking a breather on Indiana’s bench.
Fines aside, Hield has been enjoying another solid year for an Indiana team that remains very much in the thick of the play-in tournament race as of this writing. Despite that loss to a lowly Charlotte team Monday, the 33-40 Pacers are currently 1.5 games behind the Bulls for the East’s No. 10 seed.
Through 73 starts this year, Hield is averaging 17.1 PPG on .459/.424/.819 shooting splits for Indiana. He’s also contributing 5.0 RPG, 2.7 APG and 1.2 APG. The 30-year-old sharpshooter is currently in the third season of a four-year contract he signed with the Kings in 2020.