- Jazz point guard Mike Conley believed at one point during the offseason that he was headed to Los Angeles, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic. As Jones reports, Conley received a message from someone he trusted saying that he could be traded to the Clippers, but the team ultimately signed John Wall instead to fortify the point guard spot.
There’s no timetable for Kawhi Leonard‘s return to action, though coach Tyronn Lue says things are moving in the right direction, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN reports.
Leonard will miss his eighth straight game when the Clippers host Cleveland on Monday. He was sidelined all of last season while rehabbing from a knee injury and has only appeared in two games this season.
“There’s really not a time frame of when he is going to be back,” Lue said. “The biggest thing is just the testing that he has to go through with the medical and the slow progression of just getting better every single day. And so we’re just taking it day by day right now, not really a timetable.”
We have more from the Western Conference:
- James Wiseman has made a minimal impact off the Warriors bench, but coach Steve Kerr says the former No. 2 overall pick can handle the stress of his slow start, Shayna Rubin of the San Jose Mercury News tweets. “He knows how to overcome adversity,” Kerr said. “We have to help him because modern life is unforgiving and people don’t take into account organic growth. Everyone wants results right now. It’s not going to be that way.”
- Spurs swingman Devin Vassell is hopeful that his minutes limit will soon be lifted, according to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express News. Vassell played 25 minutes apiece in two weekend games after missing four games due to a sore knee. “I was itching to get back out there,” Vassell said. “I’ve been sitting the past couple of games, and I was sitting there watching long enough, so I wanted to be out there.”
- The Grizzlies signed Steven Adams to a two-year extension because he’s the anchor of their interior defense. His toughness and strength continues to marvel his teammates, Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal writes. “He makes me feel like I shouldn’t be out here,” said forward Brandon Clarke, who often matches up against Adams in practice. “It’s like I’m trying to get the board and he’s not moving. He’s the strongest person I’ve ever played against.” Adams was out of the lineup on Monday due to ankle soreness, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe tweets.
Clippers forward Paul George and Nets forward Kevin Durant have been named the NBA’s players of the week, the league announced today (via Twitter).
George, the Western Conference winner, led the Clippers to a 3-1 record while averaging 32.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.3 steals on .560/.447/.818 shooting in 37.6 minutes per contest. L.A. defeated Houston (twice) and San Antonio during that stretch, falling to Utah, and currently hold a 5-5 record to start 2022/23.
Another veteran star, Durant, was the Eastern Conference winner. Like George, he led his team to a 3-1 record, averaging 30.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.8 blocks on .532/.368/1.000 shooting in 36.9 minutes. Brooklyn defeated Indiana, Washington and Charlotte and lost to Chicago last week, and the Nets are currently 4-6.
According to the NBA (Twitter link), the other nominees in the West were Desmond Bane, Luka Doncic, De’Aaron Fox and Lauri Markkanen, while Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday, Paolo Banchero, Donovan Mitchell and Dejounte Murray were nominated in the East.
Bane, Doncic, Fox, Markannen and Mitchell have all been nominated twice through three weeks. Antetokounmpo (one win) and No. 1 overall pick Banchero have been nominated three consecutive times.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said on Sunday that injured wing Donte DiVincenzo practiced with the club today, but is not set to return to the floor just yet, per Kendra Andrews of ESPN (Twitter link). Golden State is targeting its Friday game for a DiVincenzo return, Andrews reports.
Andrews adds (via Twitter) that second-year swingman Jonathan Kuminga is going to join the Warriors’ revised rotation as the defending champs look to rebound from a five-game losing streak that has sunk their early record to 3-7. Andrews notes that Kerr has indicated he will be making other tweaks to the club’s lineups, but did not expound on that.
There’s more out of the Pacific Division:
- With starting Suns power forward Cameron Johnson now out for a while following meniscus surgery, Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports examines how his extended absence could impact the rest of the club’s roster. With Phoenix reserve Torrey Craig shifted into the starting lineup, Bourguet contends that the Suns could struggle thanks to a shortened bench and the loss of three-point shooting that arrives in the transition from Johnson to Craig. While Craig is connecting on 40.9% of his triples, he is taking just 2.4 attempts a game. Johnson was nailing 43.1% of his treys on a much more robust 6.4 looks a night.
- Craig performed well as head coach Monty Williams‘s choice to replace Johnson in the Suns‘ starting lineup, and appears to be in line for a big uptick in the weeks to come with Johnson out, according to Dana Scott of The Arizona Republic. “It’s been good,” Williams said of Craig’s performance. “He’s been thrown into a number of situations with us and I thought his energy [in the team’s 102-82 blowout of the Trail Blazers Saturday] was great.”
- Clippers All-Star forward Paul George has stepped up in the absence of injured fellow All-Star Kawhi Leonard, writes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. Leonard has only been able to suit up for two games thus far as he deals with right knee stiffness. In three straight Leonard-less wins, George has averaged 31.2 PPG, 6.1 APG and 5.0 RPG.
- Clippers guard John Wall bounced back strong on Friday night after his revenge game in Houston fizzled out, per Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. Wall admits to being angry that he only played a season-low 15 minutes against the Rockets, who kept him sidelined for all of last season, but he recognizes that it’s bad for the team if he decides to be selfish. “I knew I had to get back to being myself, being the guy this team needs if I’m playing 15 or 24 minutes,” Wall said. “It is what it is. You have to accept that and come with the sacrifice of what this team with different guys got to take and make it on this team.”
- In the wake of Cameron Johnson‘s possible meniscus tear and Jae Crowder‘s continued absence, Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports identifies some possible trade targets for the Suns to consider. He points to the Wizards’ Kyle Kuzma, the Bucks’ Grayson Allen, the Celtics’ Derrick White, the Raptors’ Thaddeus Young, the Clippers’ Nicolas Batum, the Spurs’ Josh Richardson and Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen as players who might be available in a Crowder deal.
- Clippers two-way center Moses Brown had his best game of the season in Wednesday’s win in Houston, racking up 13 points and seven rebounds in just 12 minutes. However, an increased role for Brown may not be a long-term solution to the second unit’s struggles, since head coach Tyronn Lue wants to get more production out of the team’s small, center-less lineups, writes Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times.
- Although John Wall is considered one of the Clippers‘ veteran leaders, his situation is different than it was in Houston, when he was a mentor to a very young roster, says Law Murray of The Athletic. “We have so many veteran guys here, so I don’t think they need no mentoring,” Wall said, adding that he’s still willing to help out young players like Brown, Brandon Boston Jr., and Moussa Diabate if they have questions for him.
New starting Suns power forward Cameron Johnson is undergoing a positive on-court evolution in accordance with his new gig, reports Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports.
“Getting more used to that on a night-in, night-out basis, and also finishing the game, man, that’s something that I love doing,” Johnson said of his adjustment to the new responsibilities of the role. “Being in there and being part of that critical thinking on top of high-level basketball portion of the game, it’s a lot of fun.”
Through seven contests for the West’s top-seeded 6-1 Suns, the 6’8″ Phoenix forward is averaging a career-best 14.9 PPG on .457/.440/.727 shooting splits, along with 3.9 RPG, 1.9 APG, and 1.3 SPG.
There’s more out of the Pacific Division:
- Clippers star forward Kawhi Leonard only lasted two regular season games before knee issues flared up. L.A. head coach Tyronn Lue has provided a minor update on the state of the five-time All-Star’s health, noting that Leonard is “doing better and moving in a positive direction,” per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN (Twitter link). Youngmisuk adds that Leonard will sit out the team’s upcoming two Texas road games. In his two healthy games for the Clippers, Leonard has played limited minutes as a reserve, averaging just 21 MPG.
- New Kings shooting guard Kevin Huerter has thus far managed to thrive with Sacramento following an offseason trade from Atlanta, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “My role has the potential to expand a little bit more here,” Huerter said. “Just the way we’re built, the personnel, a lot of that has to do with (Sacramento center Domantas Sabonis), playing through a five man.” The 6’7″ swingman is averaging 18.9 PPG, with a slash line of .506/.518/.789. He is also chipping in 3.9 APG, 2.9 RPG, and 0.6 SPG.
- While wondering whether Warriors star power forward Draymond Green would be as special in another team’s system as he has been in an 11-season partnership with Golden State that has yielded four NBA titles, Zach Lowe of ESPN reports that the team has yet to discuss any potential deals for the 32-year-old big man, and at present does not intend to explore trades that would send him out of town. Green, who has a $27.6MM player option for the 2023/24 season, punched teammate Jordan Poole in the face during a practice altercation, and had to spend a portion of the club’s preseason away from the other Warriors. The team opted to extend the contracts of Poole and starting small forward Andrew Wiggins ahead of the 2022/23 season, but did not do so with Green.
The NBA announced on Thursday (Twitter links) that it has fined the Clippers and Thunder $25K apiece for “violating league injury reporting rules.”
According to the NBA, the Clippers were fined for failing to disclose an accurate availability status for a couple of players recently. They listed Moussa Diabate and Brandon Boston Jr. as unavailable due to a G League assignment prior to their game against the Pelicans on October 30, but both players wound up suiting up for Los Angeles.
As for the Thunder, the league says they “failed to disclose the game availability status of guard Josh Giddey in an accurate and timely manner” prior to Monday’s contest against the Magic. The second-year guard had missed the three previous games, but returned to action on Monday, playing 25 minutes in Oklahoma City’s win.
After dropping four straight games, the Clippers have evened their record at 4-4 following consecutive victories over the Rockets. The Thunder started their season with three straight losses, but now sit with a 4-3 record after winning four in a row.
Clippers star Kawhi Leonard has been ruled out for two more games, with the team deciding that the veteran forward won’t travel to Houston and San Antonio for games on Wednesday and Sunday, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Leonard, who continues to deal with stiffness in his surgically repaired right knee, has already missed Los Angeles’ last four games.
“He’s frustrated,” Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue said before Monday’s game vs. Houston. “He wants to be out on the floor and then not being on the floor, and then now he can’t travel. He wants to travel, but the doctor said it’s not the right thing to do right now with the stiffness and what he is going through.”
Although Lue said that Leonard is feeling a little better, it remains unclear whether he’ll be available on Sunday, when the Clippers return from their brief road trip to host Utah.
- The Clippers enter their game against Houston on Monday with a 2-4 record. They were very displeased with their effort in a 21-point loss to New Orleans in their previous game, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “Right now, I think we are just showing up,” forward Marcus Morris said. “And thinking we can win because of the talent we have, because of all the things we have on this team. That’s just not the case.”