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Community Shootaround: Early Season Surprises

November 19th, 2023 at 6:43pm CST by Tristan Tucker

For the most part, it’s easy to tell who the NBA’s contenders and bottom-feeders are before the season. Similarly, fans can usually predict what a large part of a team’s given rotation is going to look like. But every year, there are several instances of unexpected players and teams breaking out or disappointing.

This season is no different and, through the first portion of the season, there are already some surprising trends and storylines.

In my view, the most disappointing start to the season for any team has to be the Grizzlies. Teams like the Pistons, Wizards, Spurs and Trail Blazers were expected to trend toward the bottom of the standings with young cores and growing pains. But the Grizzlies were the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference last year and acquired former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart. Of course, Memphis has been dealt an incredibly difficult hand with the 25-game suspension of Ja Morant and injuries to Brandon Clarke, Steven Adams and Smart, along with many more, and any team would be hard-pressed to overcome that.

Seasons are all about hot and cold streaks, and both the Clippers and Warriors are going through slumps after respective strong starts to the year. The Clippers began the year 3-1 and have gone 1-6 since acquiring James Harden, including losing six straight. The Warriors began the year 6-2 but have now also lost six in a row. I didn’t anticipate there to be as many growing pains with the Clippers and Harden from the jump, but I still expect they’ll get into form.

Not all surprises are bad though, and there have been plenty of pleasant ones to begin this year. The Timberwolves share the top spot in the west with the defending-champion Nuggets, which is eye-popping at first until you consider their elite defensive play and Anthony Edwards‘ unsurprising breakout.

The Rockets and Thunder look well ahead of the development curve, and hold two of the top six spots in the west. Chet Holmgren immediately looks like a star in his first NBA season for Oklahoma City while the Rockets have been aided by the additions of their veteran players and coach Ime Udoka.

For my money, the most surprising early season development is Dereck Lively II‘s immediate importance to the 9-4 Mavericks. In his one season at Duke, Lively averaged just 20.6 minutes per game, though his role grew exponentially as the year went on. Still, when Dallas drafted him, I expected the franchise to bring him along slowly and allow him to get adjusted to the NBA.

Instead, Lively surged to the top of the depth chart, taking a choke-hold on the starting center position at just 19 years old. He’s averaging 8.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.7 stocks (steals plus blocks) in his first 12 games. His rise to the top has opened up so many things for the Mavs’ offense and Lively is a huge part of what looks like a top dog in the conference.

That brings us to our topic of the day: What early season trends have most surprised you the most? Do you agree with any of our choices? What players and teams have most exceeded or fallen short of expectations?

Take to the comments to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to reading your input.

And-Ones: Diallo, T. Cook, J. Green, Expansion, More

November 18th, 2023 at 3:26pm CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA big man Cheick Diallo, who opened this season playing for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s G League affiliate, intends to return to Kyoto Hannaryz, the Japanese team he played for in 2022/23, according to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com (Twitter link).

Diallo appeared in 180 NBA games from 2016-20, but has bounced around since then, playing in the G League and multiple international leagues, returning to the NBA for just three contests in 2021/22.

In other international basketball news, former NBA forward Tyler Cook has signed with Spanish club Joventut Badalona, per a press release from the team. Cook played in a total of 65 games for five different NBA teams between 2019-22, but wasn’t in the league at all last season. He played in the G League in 2022/23 and had a brief stint in Australia this fall.

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

Former NBA forward Johnny Green, who made four All-Star appearances between 1959-71, including three for the Knicks, has passed away at age 89, according to Richard Goldstein of The New York Times. Known as Jumpin’ Johnny, Green was a college star at Michigan State before recording over 12,000 points and 9,000 rebounds in the NBA.
Asked during an appearance on Sportsnet’s The Raptors Show (Twitter video link) about comments he made recently referencing the idea of expansion to a Canadian city like Montreal or Vancouver, commissioner Adam Silver stressed that the NBA has received interest from those markets but isn’t prepared to seriously explore the possibility yet. “It’s not an active discussion right now,” Silver said.
The early returns for the NBA’s first ever in-season tournament “have been pretty positive,” Silver said during that same radio appearance (Twitter video link). In addition to seeing a significant jump in television ratings for tournament games, Silver is encouraged by the buy-in from people around the NBA. “The players are really into it, and the coaches and teams have been very engaged and excited about it,” Silver said. “That’s what’s most important and what will ultimately translate into the most interest from the fans.”
Sam Amick, Josh Robbins, and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic take stock of the best and worst of the NBA’s first few weeks, identifying the Mavericks, Rockets, and Timberwolves as the teams that have most outperformed expectations and the Lakers, Clippers, and Bucks as a few that have underwhelmed.

Pacific Notes: Harden, Westbrook, Mann, Booker, Green

November 18th, 2023 at 10:34am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Clippers picked up their first win since acquiring James Harden, beating the Rockets on Friday on a game-winning shot from the 10-time All-Star. According to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk, the win goes beyond simply snapping a win streak, as it shows Harden is becoming more comfortable in his new home.

“I’m getting real close,” Harden said. “I’m getting close to myself every game I feel like I’m improving.”

The win also showed a glimpse of what the Clippers can be when they’re at full strength, with Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Harden all having their fair share of moments. On top of that, their victory comes off the heels of Russell Westbrook approaching coach Tyronn Lue about coming off the bench to help stabilize the team.

“He wanted to do that, which [is] an ultimate sacrifice for a guy of his caliber,” Lue said. “For things he’s done in this league, the things he’s done for this team. So shout-out to Russ for wanting to do that. It’s a huge part of what we’ve talked about, just sacrificing wanting to win at a high level.”

Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times further explored Westbrook’s move to the bench, writing that the lineup change is here to stay. Westbrook finished with just 17 minutes played, his fewest since joining the team. Norman Powell, P.J. Tucker and Daniel Theis, the latter of whom made his Clippers debut, also joined Westbrook off the bench. According to Greif, his teammates didn’t know about the change until he walked onto the practice court on Friday in the white jerseys worn by reserves.

“We just got to get him used to it and get him accustomed to doing that, and it’s tough, it’s tough to go from starting to off the bench or from off the bench to starting, especially with the caliber player that he is,” Lue said. “So we just got to get him comfortable, make sure we got the right guys on the floor with him.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Lue put Clippers guard Terance Mann in the starting lineup over Westbrook instead of other options like Tucker. He explained the decision on Friday. “We kind of went back and forth with T-Mann and P.J, but I think T-Mann can take the responsibility of guarding point guards every night … you can kind of put him on those guys to start the games and so we don’t have to wear PG and Kawhi down to start the games every single night,” Lue said (Twitter link via Justin Russo). “And so that’s why it kind of made sense to us.“
Suns superstar guard Devin Booker is averaging a career-high 10.3 assists through his first four games, including a single-game career high of 15 on Friday against the Jazz. Even though the sample size is small, he’s looking much more comfortable as a distributor. His previous career-best average was 6.8 in 2018/19. The Suns brass is talking about him like a point guard. “He’s our most vocal guy,” head coach Frank Vogel said (Twitter link via PHNX Suns). “He’s really taken the reins of that this year with this team, and even more so on the floor as the point guard running the show.“
Warriors forward Draymond Green was suspended after engaging in a physical confrontation with Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, and the last couple times Green has been involved in drama, frustrations in the locker room were tangible, according to The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson II. However, his teammates are completely behind him this time, knowing he’s looking out for them on the court. The events that led to Green’s suspension began with Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels getting into an altercation with Green later stepping in. “We’ve got his back,” Gary Payton II said. “And we gon’ hold him down until he gets back.” According to Thompson, Green apologized to his team and knows he took it too far.

Dewayne Dedmon Joining Ontario Clippers

November 17th, 2023 at 8:27pm CST by Rory Maher

Free agent center Dewayne Dedmon is signing a G League contract to play with the Ontario Clippers, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopHype (Twitter link). Ontario is, of course, the Clippers‘ NBAGL affiliate.

A 10-year NBA veteran, Dedmon was unable to find a team as an unrestricted free agent this offseason. He appeared in 38 regular season games with the Heat and Sixers in 2022/23, averaging 5.2 points and 3.5 rebounds in 11.2 minutes per night.

Dedmon, 34, holds career averages of 6.3 points and 5.8 rebounds over 510 regular season contests, including 210 starts (17.3 minutes).

The Clippers reportedly kicked the tires on Kai Jones in their search for a frontcourt help after losing Mason Plumlee to a knee injury. They wound up signing veteran center Daniel Theis as a temporary Plumlee replacement, but perhaps Dedmon is hoping if that move doesn’t work out and he impresses with Ontario, he could sign with the Clippers and serve as the backup center instead.

Either way, a veteran signing a G League deal as a way to audition for NBA jobs is something that occurs multiple times every season, and that’s almost certainly what Dedmon will be aiming for as well.

Dedmon will remain an NBA free agent after joining Ontario, as the Clippers will only hold his G League rights.

Clippers Sign Daniel Theis

November 17th, 2023 at 4:45pm CST by Rory Maher

After clearing waivers on Friday, free agent center Daniel Theis has officially signed with the Clippers, the team announced (via Twitter).

According to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link), Theis is expected to be available for Friday’s contest against Houston.

The move was expected. Theis reached a buyout agreement with the Pacers on Wednesday and was subsequently waived. The Clippers can only offer the prorated veteran’s minimum — worth about $2.2MM in Theis’ case — which is reportedly how much he gave up in his buyout.

Theis, 31, is a 6’8″ German big man who has spent most of his seven-year NBA career with Boston, but he has also played for Chicago, Houston and Indiana. He holds career averages of 7.5 PPG, 4.9 RPG and 0.9 BPG on .542/.325/.714 shooting in 314 games (148 starts, 19.4 MPG).

Theis was limited to just seven NBA appearances last season due to a knee injury, but had a strong summer in international competition. He started at center for the German national team that captured gold at the 2023 World Cup, averaging 10.9 PPG, 5.4 RPG and 1.9 APG in 21.8 MPG in the club’s eight FIBA contests.

Theis had hoped to carry over that success into the 2023/24 NBA season, but the Pacers have a crowded frontcourt behind starting center Myles Turner. Isaiah Jackson and Jalen Smith were both ahead of Theis on the depth chart through the first three weeks of the season.

As a result, Theis was limited to just one cameo appearance this season and admitted earlier this month that was “not happy” about his nonexistent role in Indiana.

The Clippers were looking for frontcourt depth after trading multiple power forwards in the James Harden trade and then losing backup center Mason Plumlee to a sprained MCL in his left knee. Plumlee is expected to miss multiple months.

The Clippers now have a full 18-man roster after signing Theis.

Pacific Notes: K. Murray, Petrusev, Clippers, Payton

November 17th, 2023 at 12:14pm CST by Luke Adams

Kings forward Keegan Murray has been tasked with a handful of challenging defensive assignments so far this season and has responded well, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Head coach Mike Brown praised Murray for his work against Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell earlier in the week, then named him Sacramento’s defensive player of the game on Wednesday for his play vs. the Lakers (Twitter link via Anderson).

“I love it,” Murray said of being asked to do more defensively. “When I was in college and even last year, I really wasn’t known as a defender and I just tried to figure it out on my own, and obviously ask the coaches and the coaches helped me, too. But it’s just a lot of figuring out what guys do and their tendencies, just trying to be the aggressor on defense because, I mean, I feel like over the offseason, I kind of got more athletic and stronger, and that’s helped a lot.”

Murray’s offensive numbers are down to open this season, as he’s made just 38.7% of his shots from the field, including 29.6% of his three-pointers. However, he showed during an All-Rookie season in 2022/23 that he’s capable of being an offensive weapon — evolving into a legitimate two-way threat would further increase Murray’s value as a cornerstone piece for the Kings.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Greek team Olympiacos is showing interest in Kings big man Filip Petrusev, according to reports from Sport24.gr and Sportando. Although Petrusev is on a two-year contract with Sacramento, only about $560K of his 2023/24 salary is fully guaranteed, so his roster spot for the rest of the season isn’t necessarily assured. Stavros Barbarousis of Eurohoops.net suggests that while it has been a frustrating start to Petrusev’s career – he has already been on three different rosters this season – he’s still focused for now on earning his place in the NBA.
While the Clippers have more top-end talent following the James Harden trade, they sent out four wings and forwards in that deal, leaving their roster somewhat thin at other spots, Terance Mann observed this week. “We don’t have much depth, I guess at a certain position,” Mann said, per Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. “It’s just a whole different scheme, you know. Now we have James Harden. So, you know … different.” Mann is expected to move into the starting lineup on Friday after Russell Westbrook volunteered to come off the bench.
Warriors guard Gary Payton II was diagnosed with a sprain after turning his left ankle in the second quarter of Thursday’s loss and was wearing a boot on the injured foot after the game, per Kendra Andrews of ESPN (Twitter links). However, head coach Steve Kerr said X-rays on the ankle were negative and wasn’t prepared to rule him out for Saturday’s contest yet, so it remains to be seen how much time – if any – Payton might miss.

Clippers Kicked Tires On Kai Jones

November 17th, 2023 at 10:52am CST by Luke Adams

In search of center help after big man Mason Plumlee suffered a knee injury earlier this month, the Clippers considered former Hornet Kai Jones, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports told Dan Devine on the latest No Cap Room podcast (YouTube link).

However, based on Fischer’s comments, it doesn’t sound like Los Angeles seriously considered signing Jones.

“I know the Clippers were turning over every stone they could on the center market, to the point where they even, according to my sources, brought in one Kai Jones for a visit of some capacity,” Fischer said. “I’m not going to say too much on the former Charlotte Hornets first-round pick, but (he) doesn’t appear to be in mental or physical condition to be playing an NBA game right now. I just say that to say that shows the breadth of the Clippers’ search.”

The No. 19 overall pick in the 2021 draft, Jones averaged just 2.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 9.1 minutes per game across 67 total appearances in his first two professional seasons. He had a much bigger role at the G League level, averaging 17.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 2.1 blocks in 38 regular season games with the Greensboro Swarm — Charlotte’s affiliate — from 2021-23.

Jones made a series of odd social media posts this offseason, calling out some of his teammates in a handful of tweets and videos. A report ahead of training camp indicated that the big man wouldn’t be reporting to the Hornets for personal reasons. He subsequently requested a trade and then was waived by the club shortly thereafter. The 22-year-old has been a free agent since then.

The Clippers ultimately found a temporary replacement for Plumlee – who is expected to miss a significant chunk of the season – on the buyout market. The club reportedly intends to sign Daniel Theis after he clears waivers on Friday, assuming he passes a physical. Theis negotiated a buyout with Indiana and was officially cut on Wednesday.

Clippers’ Russell Westbrook Volunteers To Come Off Bench

November 17th, 2023 at 9:41am CST by Luke Adams

With the Clippers struggling to find their footing in the wake of the James Harden trade, starting point guard Russell Westbrook has requested to move to a reserve role, league sources tell Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report.

According to Haynes, the plan is for Westbrook to come off the bench for the Clippers in Friday’s in-season tournament game vs. Houston, with Terance Mann getting the start in his place.

Westbrook, Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Ivica Zubac have started each of the five games the Clippers have played since Harden made his debut with the team. Los Angeles has lost all five of those games and has posted a -14.1 net rating in 58 minutes with that five-man group on the court.

It’s a very small sample, but by comparison, that group had a +38.0 net rating in 51 minutes with Robert Covington in Harden’s place prior to the trade.

Head coach Tyronn Lue has experimented with taking certain players – including Harden – off the court relatively early in the game and then bringing them back with the second unit, and some of the Clippers stars have expressed confidence that a breakthrough is close. However, having Westbrook move to the bench will allow the team to start the game with one fewer ball-dominant player on the court, which could help simplify the offensive game plan.

As Haynes writes, Westbrook brought the idea to the coaching staff, suggesting that it would put the first unit in a better position to develop some chemistry and would allow him to bring his energy to the second unit. The former MVP is the Clippers’ “vocal leader” and told the coaching staff he wants to do whatever it takes to win, sources tell Haynes.

Westbrook has started every game he has played for the Clippers since signing with the team last season, but came off the bench in 49 of the 52 games he played for the Lakers in 2022/23. As Haynes points out, that move was instigated by the Lakers’ coaching staff, whereas this time the idea is coming from Westbrook, who has received praise throughout the organization for the “selfless” move, sources tell Bleacher Report.

L.A. Notes: George, Vincent, Hood-Schifino, Davis, Harden, More

November 16th, 2023 at 10:26pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The NBA fined Clippers star Paul George $35K on Thursday for criticizing the officiating in L.A.’s Tuesday loss to Denver, the league announced in a release (Twitter link).

“I thought we played great. It’s tough, the adversity of playing against the extra three,” George said. “I thought they were awful but (against) the defending champs, we’ve got to play better. So many times I got hit on layups, 3-pointers. It was constant. Jump shots, getting hit, smacked on the forearm. It was a poor job.”

According to the NBA’s statement, the amount of the fine was based partly on George’s history of public criticism of officiating. George has been fined three prior times for the same offense, most recently in February 2020, which was also for $35K. His other two fines were for $25K and $10K.

The fine came on the heels of a three-point loss against Denver in which George scored 35 points. George, 33, is averaging 24.7 points in his first 10 games this season. As always, he’s connecting on a blistering clip from deep, shooting 39.0% on 8.2 attempts beyond the arc.

We have more from the teams out of Los Angeles:

Lakers guard Gabe Vincent is progressing from his left knee injury and will be reevaluated in two weeks, tweets The Athletic’s Jovan Buha. Vincent hasn’t played since Oct. 30. He’s averaging 6.0 points and 3.0 assists in four games this year. Buha adds that rookie guard Jalen Hood-Schifino, who hasn’t yet made his NBA debut while dealing with a right patella contusion, has begun a return-to-play progression.
The $500K-per-player reward for the league’s in-season tournament holds significant appeal to Lakers star center Anthony Davis, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter link). “$500 [thousand] sounds real good to us,” Davis said. “It’s going to bring that juice, you know what I mean? … I heard one of our players, I’m not going to say who but he was like, ‘Man, when we beat Phoenix, ‘That’s one step closer to this $500. I’ve never had that before.’ So it’s like, that’s a little extra motivation.“
The Clippers are in the midst of a six-game losing streak, having lost all five since trading for James Harden, prompting Sportsnaut’s Mark Medina to explore whether the trade was worth it for the Clips. Medina argues that while it’s easy to point to their 3-1 start before acquiring Harden as an indication that the Clippers are worse with him, they’re simply ironing out having four high-profile players. Harden’s passivity in games so far indicates he’s taking time to learn the system, and they have awareness to fix these issues. Ultimately, Medina reasons the Harden acquisition gives the Clippers a higher ceiling than the rotation pieces they sent out, especially if or when Kawhi Leonard or George have to miss time.
The Lakers have been up and down through their first 12 games and their lackluster play is cause for concern, according to The Orange County Register’s Mirjam Swanson. They’re 6-6 and while the Lakers had a worse start last season, the issues this time around are much different, Swanson argues, especially considering they largely ran back the group they acquired at the deadline last year that powered them to the Western Conference Finals. Some of the Lakers’ issues include conceding second-chance points (their 18.4 per game allowed are the worst in the league), as well as getting beat by an NBA-worst 6.8 points per first quarter.

Clippers Officially Promote Joshua Primo To Standard Roster

November 16th, 2023 at 1:25pm CST by Luke Adams

November 16: Primo received a two-year, minimum-salary deal that is fully guaranteed for the remainder of this season and features a $1MM partial guarantee for 2024/25, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

November 15: The Clippers have officially signed two-way player Joshua Primo to a new standard contract, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

Shams Charania of The Athletic reported last Monday that this promotion was coming. The move had to be made official today because teams aren’t permitted to carry fewer than 14 players on standard contracts for more than two weeks at a time. The Clippers had been carrying 13 since completing their James Harden and Filip Petrusev trades on November 1.

Primo was given a second chance this fall by the Clippers after being waived by San Antonio last year for engaging in “inappropriate and offensive behavior by exposing himself to women.” The NBA imposed a four-game suspension and Primo has been undergoing therapy for his behavior, which allegedly included multiple incidents with Dr. Hillary Cauthen, a sports psychologist who worked for the Spurs during his time with the organization.

The 20-year-old wing was the youngest player in the 2021 draft when San Antonio selected him with the 12th overall pick. He appeared in 50 games as a rookie, making 16 starts and averaging 5.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 19.3 minutes per night. He got into just four games during his second season before being waived and has yet to appear in an NBA game since joining the Clippers.

Primo has been playing for the Ontario Clippers, L.A.’s G League affiliate, and is expected to remain in the NBAGL for the time being, tweets Law Murray of The Athletic. He has averaged 17.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 3.0 APG in three games (28.9 MPG) for Ontario so far.

While the exact terms of Primo’s deal aren’t yet known, it will be a minimum-salary contract, which is all the Clippers can offer. According to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link), it’s a two-year contract with a partial guarantee in year two — that suggests the deal is fully guaranteed for the 2023/24 season, though we haven’t yet gotten official confirmation on that.

Los Angeles is expected to sign Xavier Moon to a two-way contract soon to fill Primo’s spot. The team is also on track to fill the open 15th spot on its standard roster by signing Daniel Theis, who is currently on waivers.