- Star forward Kawhi Leonard was available for the Clippers on Thursday after leaving Tuesday’s contest due to back spasms, but James Harden missed the game in Chicago due to a left shoulder strain. As Law Murray of The Athletic tweets, it snapped a streak of 59 straight appearances for Harden, his longest such run since 2017.
The Clippers got a health scare on Tuesday, when Kawhi Leonard had to leave the team’s game against Minnesota in the first half due to back spasms, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. If Leonard has to miss any time, it would complicate L.A.’s push for one of the top playoff seeds in the West, writes Law Murray of The Athletic.
However, Leonard traveled with the Clippers to Chicago and is listed as questionable for Thursday’s game, tweets Youngmisuk, so it doesn’t appear the issue is significant.
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Suns forward Nassir Little, who has missed the past seven games due to left knee inflammation, was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice and is expected to be available for Thursday’s game in Boston, tweets Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Little is listed as probable for the showdown with the Celtics.
- Suns forward Royce O’Neale said on Wednesday that it “means a lot” to hear team owner Mat Ishbia say that re-signing O’Neale will be a priority for the club this offseason, adding that it shows how much Ishbia “wants to win and keep the guys together” (Twitter video link via Rankin).
- The Warriors‘ loss to Dallas on Wednesday makes it increasingly likely that Golden State will end up in the bottom half of the play-in bracket in the Western Conference, meaning they’d have to win two play-in games to even qualify for the playoffs, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. The 34-31 club is now 3.5 games back of the No. 8 Mavs, who would hold the tiebreaker edge on Golden State if they win one of the team’s two remaining meetings in early April. “Yeah, it feels daunting,” Brandin Podziemski said.“Just for the fact that you don’t want to be the 10th seed. The 11th seed is, I think, four or five games behind us. So for us to get that low I don’t think is going to happen. But you don’t want to be the 10th seed and have to play two road games before you get into an actual series.”
- A pair of Kings players set franchise records in a blowout win over Milwaukee on Tuesday, as Domantas Sabonis registered his 47th consecutive double-double, while Malik Monk took the lead for most career assists by a Sacramento reserve, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Sabonis increased his double-double streak to 48 games on Wednesday in an impressive victory over the Lakers that moved the Kings up to sixth in the Western Conference standings.
The Clippers’ G League team will relocate to Oceanside, Calif. and rebrand as the San Diego Clippers, according to a team press release.
They’ll play at the brand new Frontwave Arena for the 2024/25 season. The NBA Clippers will also have new digs next season, as they’re on track to move into the $2 billion Intuit Dome in Inglewood.
It’s a sort of homecoming for the Clippers organization, as the NBA team played in San Diego from 1978-84. Their current G League franchise, named the Ontario Clippers, will complete its season in Ontario, Calif. The NBAGL club was previously named the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario.
Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank will continue to oversee basketball operations for both teams.
“We are proud to re-introduce the San Diego Clippers into this passionate sports market,” Halo Sports and Entertainment CEO Gillian Zucker. “Our G League team is a critical part of our business and basketball operation, and we are thrilled to be relocating to the new Frontwave Arena next season.”
Anthony Davis overcame a sore left shoulder to deliver a historic performance in the Lakers‘ win over Minnesota Sunday night, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. His combination of 27 points, 25 rebounds, seven steals, five assists and three blocks had never been posted before in the league. Davis was listed as questionable for the game, still feeling the effects of a Friday collision with Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the team’s medical staff had to wrap his shoulder with a heat pack whenever he wasn’t on the court.
“I felt it at times out there,” Davis said. “I still kind of feel it.”
McMenamin notes that the seven steals were a career high for Davis, and the 25 rebounds fell one short of his career-best mark. He has played a huge role in the Lakers’ recent surge, which has them six games over .500 and within two games of sixth place.
“I think we’re hitting our stride right now,” Davis said. “We’re just trying to keep going, keep pushing, knowing that just like last year, all we got to do is get in. We feel like it’s tough for anybody to beat us in a seven-game series. … We like our chances against anybody at that point.”
There’s more from Los Angeles:
- Lakers forward Cam Reddish sat out Sunday’s game and continues to deal with significant soreness in his right ankle, tweets Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. Coach Darvin Ham said he expects an update on Reddish’s condition in the next day or two.
- P.J. Tucker, who has seen limited court time since being traded to the Clippers in November, made his first start of the season on Sunday, per Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. The opportunity came because Kawhi Leonard and Paul George were both sitting out the second game of a back-to-back, and Tucker responded with seven points and six rebounds in 25 minutes. The 38-year-old forward believes he can still contribute to the team. “That’s what I do. It’s like breathing to me — physicality and making people work and not giving up easy plays and cave,” Tucker said. “That’s the stuff that comes naturally. Making shots and doing all that stuff is just extras.”
- Coach Tyronn Lue was unhappy about the scheduling conflict that had his team playing two afternoon games 22 hours apart, per Greg Beacham of The Associated Press. The Clippers typically get the worst dates at Crypto.com Arena, and they were forced into the early contests because the Lakers had a home game Sunday night and the NHL’s Kings had a late game Saturday. Bucks coach Doc Rivers, whose team provided the opposition on Sunday, said he went through the same experience when he coached the Clippers. “It was awful,” Rivers said. “I think we did two or three of these (back-to-back afternoon weekend games) a year. It’s just not natural. Being here, you get used to it, but it’s still not normal.”
- Clippers center Ivica Zubac was able to return today from the illness that forced him to miss two games earlier this week and prompted coach Tyronn Lue to keep on the bench for the second half of Wednesday’s contest at Houston, notes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. Zubac had 16 points and nine rebounds in nearly 25 minutes and sparked a second half rally as L.A. defeated Chicago on Saturday.
Clippers guard Russell Westbrook underwent surgery on his fractured left hand on Monday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The hope is that Westbrook will be able to return before the playoffs, Wojnarowski adds.
Westbrook suffered his broken right hand on Friday in a game against Washington. According to Wojnarowski, he’s now starting rehabilitation so he can be back before the postseason starts in April.
Westbrook, 35, has been one of the league’s top bench players after accepting the role change earlier this season. He’s averaging 11.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 58 games.
Bones Hyland took over for Westbrook after he went down and played the backup point guard spot in L.A.’s win over the Timberwolves on Sunday.
It has been a roller coaster season for Hyland, who admitted the season was “challenging” and was sent home before the All-Star break. He’s averaging 5.7 points and 2.0 assists this season.
The fractured left hand that Russell Westbrook suffered Friday night has created an opportunity for Bones Hyland, writes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. Hyland played 16 minutes after Westbrook left the game, and he may have a spot in the Clippers‘ rotation for the foreseeable future.
“It’s been a long time,” Hyland said, “but honestly I’m just ready to keep contributing to the team, build up these wins and carry this momentum into the thing that we all want to do.”
Carr points out that Hyland averaged 26.2 minutes and 13.6 points in the season’s first five games. But he became a forgotten man after the James Harden trade was completed, logging 34 DNPs since November 10 and being listed as inactive five times. He admits it has been “challenging” and credits Westbrook for providing encouragement while he waited for playing time.
“Russ has been a great leader to me, man, since I came here, even before I got here,” Hyland said. “He’s always been that guy I can go talk to. … In this whole process, he told me to stay down, stay hungry, stay in the gym, just keep being myself and it’ll come back around full circle.”
There’s more from Los Angeles:
- Center Ivica Zubac was able to travel with the Clippers after missing the past two games with an undisclosed illness, per Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. He’s listed as questionable for Sunday afternoon’s contest in Minnesota. “I hope I can play,” Zubac said. “I didn’t come all this way not to play. But I guess it’s up to the medical staff, but I hope I can play.”
- Clippers coach Tyronn Lue talked about the effect that losing Westbrook will have on the team, Turner adds. “Russ plays every night, so just to see him go through something like this is tough on everybody,” Lue said. “He wants to compete in practice, in games, in everything.”
- Spencer Dinwiddie, who signed with the Lakers last month after being waived by Toronto, is becoming more comfortable with his new team, according to Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. Coach Darvin Ham said his advice to Dinwiddie was “be aggressive and let us figure it out around you.”
- Harry Giles will report to the Lakers Sunday on his new two-way contract, tweets Jovan Buha of The Athletic. Ham told reporters that he’s happy to find a promising talent to fortify the frontcourt (video link). “I think he’s a really good young player,” Ham said. “He was available and we saw an opportunity to gain a little insurance at that position. … He’s also someone we can take a long, hard look at as far as implementing him into the program.”
Clippers guard Russell Westbrook sustained a broken left hand on Friday vs. Washington, the team announced (Twitter link via ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk).
Head coach Tyronn Lue told reporters after the game that he’s not yet sure whether Westbrook will require surgery or how much time he might miss (Twitter link via Youngmisuk).
The 2016/17 league MVP, Westbrook has made nine All-NBA teams over the course of his 16-year career. After the Clips traded for James Harden, Westbrook has primarily come off the bench in 2023/24, averaging 11.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 4.5 APG and 1.1 SPG on .451/.268/.672 shooting in 57 games (22.8 MPG).
Unfortunately, Westbrook is the second noteworthy player to suffer a fractured left hand tonight, joining Raptors forward Scottie Barnes.
While Westbrook, 35, is clearly no longer in his prime, he’s still a terrific rebounder for a guard who can get in the paint and make plays. Earlier in the season, he talked about being keyed in defensively.
Before the Harden trade, Bones Hyland was the team’s backup point guard, and now that Westbrook is injured, he’ll likely receive some rotation minutes.
Westbrook holds a $4MM player option for ’24/25.
- Clippers coach Tyronn Lue had a health scare when he was coaching Cleveland due to stress and poor eating and sleeping habits. He’s learned from that experience and has a much healthier diet and exercise plan, he told Andscape’s Marc J. Spears. “I’ve been working out. Eating better. I still have my moments. [I’m] eating less. It’s been good,” Lue said. “(Strength and conditioning coach Daniel Shapiro) has done a good job of staying on me because I can stray away. I’m just doing 20 to 30 minutes per day … Now I’m about 208 [pounds]. Back [in Cleveland] I was 241. I can’t believe I got that big.”
- LeBron James sparked the biggest fourth-quarter comeback of his career against the Clippers on Wednesday in the two teams’ final matchup as cohabitants of Crypto.com Arena. The Lakers rallied from 21 points down with the aid of three three-pointers early in the fourth from James, who finished with 34 points. “It’s just a zone, and you can’t really describe it,” James said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “You wish you could stay in it forever, but obviously it checks out once the game ends. But during it, you don’t feel anything. It’s just like a superpower feel.“
The Sixers continue to believe that star center Joel Embiid, who underwent surgery on the meniscus in his left knee earlier this month, should be able to return to the court before the end of the regular season, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on Tuesday during an appearance on NBA Today (YouTube link).
“They still are optimistic that they can get him back,” Wojnarowski said. “I think there’s some hope that they can get him back on the court by sometime in late March, back starting to get into condition. The goal here isn’t necessarily to try to bring him back and see how many regular season games you might be able to win with him. The goal is to get him as healthy as he can be for the postseason.”
When the Sixers announced Embiid’s procedure on February 6, they said he would be reevaluated in four weeks. As Wojnarowski notes, that means we’re still about a week away from the team providing a more official update on the reigning MVP’s progress and possible timeline.
Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:
- X-rays on Deandre Ayton‘s sprained right hand came back negative, Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups said on Tuesday after Ayton left the team’s loss to Miami early (Twitter link via Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report). However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the Portland center is in the clear. “I think there will be some further testing because he was in quite a bit of pain,” Billups said (link via ESPN).
- Nets guard Cam Thomas underwent an MRI on his sprained right ankle on Tuesday, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post. While the results haven’t yet been announced, Thomas said on Monday that he doesn’t believe this ankle injury is as severe as the one that cost him nine games in November.
- The Clippers will be without star forward Paul George for a second straight game due to left knee soreness, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Head coach Tyronn Lue said that George didn’t practice on Tuesday and wouldn’t be available on Wednesday vs. the Lakers after having sat out Sunday’s loss to Sacramento.