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Schedule For NBA Tournament Non-Qualifiers Set

November 29th, 2023 at 7:45am CST by Dana Gauruder

The NBA in-season tournament will reach the quarterfinal stage next week and the eight qualifiers and their seeds were finalized on Tuesday. The 22 teams that failed to advance had two holes in their schedules that needed to be filled.

Those matchups were determined late Tuesday evening, with each team receiving a home and away contest, NBA Communications tweets. The newly-scheduled games will take place next Wednesday (December 6) and Friday (Dec. 8).

The Cavaliers and Magic, who missed the quarterfinals despite their 3-1 tournament records, will face each other in Cleveland on Wednesday. Cleveland will then visit the Heat (2-2 tournament) on Friday.

The Nets, who also had a 3-1 tournament record, wound up with a road game against the Hawks (1-3) and home game against the Wizards (0-4)

The Sixers, who finished 2-2 in the tournament, drew a road game against the Wizards and a home game against the Hawks.

In the West, the Timberwolves were the only 3-1 tournament team that didn’t reach the quarterfinals. They’ll host the Spurs (0-4) and visit the Grizzlies (0-4).

The defending champion Nuggets will visit Los Angeles to face the Clippers (1-3), then head home to take on the Rockets (2-2). The Warriors, who were knocked out of contention by Sacramento on Tuesday, drew a home game against the Trail Blazers (1-3) and a road contest against the Thunder (1-3).

Here’s the full schedule for next Wednesday and Friday:

Wednesday, Dec. 6

Orlando at Cleveland
Memphis at Detroit
Miami at Toronto
Philadelphia at Washington
Brooklyn at Atlanta
San Antonio at Minnesota
Charlotte at Chicago
Oklahoma City at Houston
Utah at Dallas
Portland at Golden State
Denver at LA Clippers

Friday, Dec. 8

Toronto at Charlotte
Detroit at Orlando
Atlanta at Philadelphia
Washington at Brooklyn
Cleveland at Miami
Minnesota at Memphis
Golden State at Oklahoma City
Chicago at San Antonio
Houston at Denver
LA Clippers at Utah
Dallas at Portland

Two more regular season games will be added to the NBA’s schedule after the quarterfinals of the in-season tournament are complete, since the four teams that lose those matchups will require an 82nd game on their respective schedules.

Grizzlies Hope To Go Back To Basics After Another Loss

November 25th, 2023 at 9:52pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Grizzlies believe their struggles go beyond Ja Morant‘s suspension and injuries to several key players, according to Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. After Friday’s loss at Phoenix, Derrick Rose called for the team to increase its focus on defense, while Desmond Bane sought a return to basketball fundamentals. “It’s just a commitment that we’re going to have to make 1 through 15,” Bane said. “Everybody on the floor has an obligation to get out and run, share the ball and whenever opportunities are there, be aggressive. If they’re not there, swing it to the open teammate. It’s a pretty simple game.”

How Jackson Helped Biyombo Acclimate To Grizzlies

November 24th, 2023 at 8:17pm CST by Rory Maher

Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal details how Jaren Jackson Jr. helped Bismack Biyombo quickly acclimate to the Grizzlies, writing that the two big men had a preexisting relationship, as they’re both vice presidents of the National Basketball Players Association. Following a season-ending knee injury to Steven Adams, the Grizzlies signed Biyombo once Ja Morant was placed on the suspended list. The Congolese center has played a prominent role for the injury-ravaged team, starting eight of his nine games while averaging 7.3 PPG, 8.0 RPG and 1.1 BPG in 25.1 MPG. “He can fit in any locker room,” Jackson said of Biyombo. “He’s a great leader. That’s why he’s doing what he does for his country and does what he does for the union. I know how much he cares about the league. That care carries over to the locker room.”

Grizzlies Sign Harrison, Nowell To 10-Day Contracts

November 24th, 2023 at 9:55am CST by Rory Maher

NOVEMBER 24: The 10-day deals for Nowell and Harrison are official, the Grizzlies announced today in a press release (Twitter link). They’ll run through December 3, covering Memphis’ next five games.

NOVEMBER 23: The Grizzlies are signing guards Shaquille Harrison and Jaylen Nowell to 10-day hardship contracts, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

As Wojnarowski explains, the NBA recently granted Memphis two extra roster spots via the hardship provision because the club has five players who have missed at least the past three games with injuries and will be sidelined for at least the next two weeks. Those five players are Steven Adams (knee surgery; out for the season), Brandon Clarke (torn Achilles tendon), Marcus Smart (sprained left foot), Jake LaRavia (eye surgery) and Luke Kennard (left knee bone bruise).

It’s possible the Grizzlies could qualify for a third 10-day hardship deal, depending on the prognosis for big man Xavier Tillman — he’s considered week-to-week as he recovers from a left knee injury. Memphis is already carrying one extra player on its standard roster while Ja Morant is on the suspended list.

Harrison spent training camp and preseason with the Grizzlies this fall after inking an Exhibit 10 contract. He was waived before the season started. There was speculation that Harrison might receive the initial extra roster spot after Morant missed the first five games and was placed on the suspended list, but that went to center Bismack Biyombo once Adams was ruled out for the season.

There were also rumors that Harrison, who is now in his seventh NBA season, might head to Europe, but apparently those talks fell through. The defensive standout has appeared in 180 total regular season games with Phoenix, Chicago, Utah, Denver, Brooklyn and Portland, holding career averages of 5.3 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 1.7 APG and 1.0 SPG on .435/.281/.718 shooting in 15.4 MPG.

Nowell averaged 10.8 PPG, 2.6 RPG and 2.0 APG in 19.3 MPG across 65 appearances in ’22/23 as a regular part of the Timberwolves’ rotation. However, after becoming an unrestricted free agent, he remained on the open market for nearly three months before eventually settling for an Exhibit 10 contract with Sacramento. The Kings waived him last month before the season started, making him an unrestricted free agent once again.

Still just 24 years old, Nowell was the 43rd pick of the 2019 draft. He spent his first four seasons with Minnesota, averaging 9.1 PPG, 2.2 RPG and 1.9 APG in 184 regular season games (17.0 MPG).

While the 3-11 Grizzlies need help up and down their roster, it makes sense that they would prioritize a pair of guards with NBA experience to help out in the backcourt. Ordinarily, Morant, Smart and Kennard would receive major minutes, but they’re all unavailable at the moment.

Southwest Notes: Vassell, Spurs, Udoka, Gilyard

November 22nd, 2023 at 12:21pm CST by Luke Adams

Spurs wing Devin Vassell, who has battled a left adductor injury in the season’s first month after signing a lucrative long-term contract extension in the offseason, told reporters that he’ll return for Wednesday’s game vs. the Clippers (Twitter video link via Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News).

The groin injury has sidelined Vassell for five of the Spurs’ first 14 games, including the past three. He has been effective when he has played, averaging 17.3 points in just 28.9 minutes per night through nine appearances, with career highs in field goal percentage (49.6%) and three-point percentage (43.1%).

Here are a few more notes from around the Southwest:

Although the Spurs have a talented young core headed by No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama, they’re the NBA’s youngest team and are still in search of leadership, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). “When a team is that young, each is hesitant to play that role,” head coach Gregg Popovich said. “Usually your leaders are your best players, and they’re usually All-Stars. We don’t have that right now.”
Rockets head coach Ime Udoka spoke to Kelly Iko of The Athletic about the defensive system he brought to Houston, Popovich’s influence on his coaching style, and whether the expectations with his new team are different than they were in Boston. “For me, the expectation is the same, the standards are the same,” Udoka explained. “You want to play at a certain level, and it doesn’t matter if it’s a championship-level team or a young team. You want to build those habits and fundamentals from day one.”
Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal takes a look at Jacob Gilyard‘s journey from undrafted free agent to G League standout to two-way player to Grizzlies‘ starting point guard. While injuries and Ja Morant‘s suspension have forced Gilyard into the rotation, his teammates have been impressed with how he has handled the opportunity. “I knew he was a hooper from the minute I watched him,” Jaren Jackson Jr. said. “I felt comfortable playing with him, like I have been playing with him for years.”

Injury Notes: LaRavia, Reddish, Watanabe, DSJ, Thomas

November 22nd, 2023 at 8:43am CST by Luke Adams

Grizzlies forward Jake LaRavia is undergoing a procedure to address a corneal abrasion of his left eye, the team announced in a press release on Tuesday (Twitter link). According to the club, LaRavia will be reevaluated in about two or three weeks, so he won’t return until sometime in December, at the earliest.

It’s the latest in a growing list of injuries for the Grizzlies, who are missing big men Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke due to long-term ailments and have also had Marcus Smart, Luke Kennard, and Xavier Tillman go down recently.

The Grizzlies are already carrying one extra player on their standard roster while Ja Morant is on the suspended list, but could qualify for another roster spot via the hardship provision. A team can apply for a hardship exception when it has at least four players who have missed three or more consecutive games due to injury or illness, assuming those players will remain sidelined for the foreseeable future.

Wednesday’s game vs. Houston will be the third straight that Smart, Kennard, and Tillman have missed, so the Grizzlies could request a hardship exception after that contest if they want to try to add some extra depth.

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

Lakers forward Cam Reddish left Tuesday’s win over Utah early due to a groin injury and didn’t return. He’ll undergo further evaluation on Wednesday to assess the severity of the injury, sources tell Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). Head coach Darvin Ham said that second-year guard Max Christie could play a “really prominent” role on Wednesday vs. Dallas if Reddish can’t go, tweets Jovan Buha of The Athletic.
Suns forward Yuta Watanabe, who was unavailable for a second straight game on Tuesday, has a “deep” thigh bruise that head coach Frank Vogel described as “really painful,” per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link). Watanabe’s return timeline is unclear.
Nets guard Dennis Smith Jr., affected by a lower back sprain, underwent an MRI on Tuesday, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Smith will be out for a second consecutive game on Wednesday.
Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn added that the team should have an update on injured guard Cam Thomas (ankle sprain) later this week, according to Lewis. “He is heading in the right direction,” Vaughn said of Thomas. “Unless we wanted to be extremely proficient in giving him an MRI to compare to, to my knowledge he won’t need another MRI. He’s building towards getting back on the floor.”

Pacers, Lakers First Teams To Clinch Tournament Quarterfinal Spots

November 22nd, 2023 at 7:21am CST by Luke Adams

The first two quarterfinalists for the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament were determined on Tuesday, as the Pacers‘ win over Atlanta and the Lakers‘ blowout of Utah ensured that both clubs will advance to the knockout round of the tournament.

Indiana, the winner of East Group A, is 3-0 in round robin play and holds the tiebreaker over the 2-1 Cavaliers due to their head-to-head record. Cleveland remains in the hunt for the East’s wild card spot.

As for the Lakers, they’ve played their full round robin slate in West Group A and won all four games, with a +74 point differential. The club has secured home court advantage for the quarterfinals and is in strong position to claim the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed.

Only two other undefeated teams are left in the West and those two clubs – the Kings and Timberwolves – will have to face each other this Friday. If either Sacramento or Minnesota finishes with a 4-0 record in group play, point differential would be the tiebreaker to determine seeding — the two clubs are only +16 and +10, respectively, through two games and would probably need a pair of blowout victories to pass the Lakers.

By making the quarterfinals, the Pacers and Lakers have clinched per-player bonuses worth at least $50K. The value of those bonuses would increase to $100K if they advance to the semifinals, $200K if they make the final, and $500K if they win the entire tournament. The Lakers haven’t been shy about referring to that prize money as a motivating factor, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN notes.

“It’s not a run-of-the-mill regular-season game,” Lakers head coach Darvin Ham said after Tuesday’s win. “They’re well aware. That purse is pretty attractive. … Guys like money. … Not like it, they love it. That incentive right there — it’s huge.”

Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton and head coach Rick Carlisle said this week that they appreciate the fact that the in-season tournament has given a young club – which hasn’t made the playoffs since 2020 – a chance to compete in meaningful games.

The Pistons, Wizards, Trail Blazers, Grizzlies, and Spurs have been eliminated from quarterfinal contention, but every other team technically remains alive. The full in-season tournament standings can be found here.

Southwest Notes: Brooks, Grizzlies, McCollum, Nance, THJ, Osman

November 21st, 2023 at 4:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Dillon Brooks, who has been lauded by Rockets coaches and teammates alike for the grit and toughness he has brought to his new team in Houston, believes his former club in Memphis has missed the edge he brought to the court, as Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required) writes. Ahead of his first meeting against Memphis on Wednesday, Brooks said the Grizzlies “have no swagger” this season without him.

“It’s like the girlfriend that you used to have,” Brooks said of his departure from the Grizzlies, who have a 3-10 record. “You don’t know how good she is until she’s gone.”

Asked about Brooks’ comments, Grizzlies wing Desmond Bane said he “hasn’t seen anything that he’s said,” while Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins took the high road, saying that he’s “really happy for (Brooks’) early-season success,” per Wynston Wilcox of The Memphis Commercial Appeal.

Although they weren’t willing to get dragged into a war of words with Brooks, it sounds like there are certainly some Grizzlies players who are looking forward to facing their former teammate.

“I want to play against him,” Jaren Jackson Jr. told Wilcox. “I’ve been talking trash to Dillon for five years, so it’s great.”

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

While it remains unclear exactly when they’ll return to game action, injured Pelicans veterans CJ McCollum (collapsed lung) and Larry Nance Jr. (rib fracture) are trending in the right direction. Both players were full participants in practice on Tuesday, according to head coach Willie Green (Twitter link via Will Guillory of The Athletic). McCollum, who said he also fractured a rib, told reporters that he feels good and is awaiting medical clearance from his pulmonologist, per Christian Clark of NOLA.com. “I should be cleared here pretty soon,” he said.
Even without McCollum and Nance available, the Pelicans have been playing good basketball lately, winning three of their last four games, including a 36-point blowout over Sacramento on Monday. As Clark details for NOLA.com, star forward Zion Williamson said a team meeting helped spark the turnaround. “We weren’t on the same page before,” Williamson said. “Now we’re all on the same page. … We talked about what we wanted to do as a unit. That’s what we are going to live and die with. Since we are all on the same page, I think we have been gelling together a lot better.”
Mavericks wing Tim Hardaway Jr. had started more often than not in his previous four-plus seasons in Dallas, but he has embraced a sixth man role this season, writes Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. Hardaway’s 18.2 points per game and .405 3PT% would be career highs. “I said before, first and foremost, in order for you to know that you’re going in that role, you have to embrace it and accept it,” Hardaway said. “That’s what (Jamal Crawford) did. That’s what (Lou Williams) did. That’s what J.R. Smith did. And that’s what I’m trying to do is have that same mentality.”
When the Spurs acquired Cedi Osman as part of the three-team sign-and-trade deal sending Max Strus to Cleveland, it wasn’t clear whether the veteran forward would even be in their plans. However, Osman is playing well in a regular role off the bench and has earned praise from head coach Gregg Popovich, who called him “a competitor of the highest order,” according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). “He’s been really good for us,” Popovich said of the 28-year-old, who is on an expiring contract.

Kennard Sidelined Minimum Of Two Weeks

November 20th, 2023 at 10:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Grizzlies, who have already been ravaged by injuries this season, got some more bad news on Monday. Wing Luke Kennard has a left knee bone bruise and will be reevaluated in two weeks, the team’s PR department tweets. Kennard was off to a slow start, but the Grizzlies will miss the perimeter threat of a 43.5% career 3-point shooter.

Meanwhile, Grizzlies big man Xavier Tillman is considered week-to-week as he recovers from a left knee injury. He’s averaging 9.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists this season.

Southwest Notes: Sochan, Alvarado, Rockets, Mavs

November 20th, 2023 at 12:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs‘ efforts to turn forward Jeremy Sochan into a point guard have been a bit bumpy so far, but the team has shown a willingness to stick with it and Sochan has been open to learning, writes Andrew Lopez of ESPN.com. The 20-year-old admits it’s “going to be a process” to adapt to the new position, but he’s been getting advice from last season’s starter Tre Jones and said the transition has been “fun.”

“There have been moments where it’s like, ‘Yo, I don’t want to.’ It’s like, ‘f–k this s–t.’ I’m going to be honest,” Sochan said earlier this month. “There have been moments where there isn’t confidence. But there are moments of being confident and just working. Knowing the trust I have from the coaches and players, it helps.”

As Lopez details, the Spurs didn’t have Sochan watch film of any specific point guards when he moved into the role, since they still want him to play like himself rather than trying to emulate someone else.

“He can’t play like Chris Paul or he can’t play like John Stockton,” Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said. “He’s got to be Jeremy.”

Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins, who said his team “studied” Sochan ahead of the 2022 draft, referred to him as a “Swiss Army Knife-type player” with strong play-making skills, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). Jenkins isn’t surprised that Popovich is thinking outside of the box by experimenting with Sochan at the point.

“When you have been around Pop, competed against Pop, he is very open-minded to trying a lot of different things,” Jenkins said. “In the eras he has been here, playing big, playing small, emphasizing the three-ball, emphasizing the paint, emphasizing faster pace, slower pace, not a surprise.”

Here are a few more notes from around the Southwest:

Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado said today during a media session that he’ll make his season debut on Monday night vs. Sacramento, per Christian Clark of NOLA.com. “I’m back,” Alvarado said. “I feel good. I will go through pregame. But I’m back. That’s the plan.” Alvarado has yet to play this fall due to a right ankle sprain.
Mark Medina of Sportsnaut spoke to Rockets head coach Ime Udoka about the strides his team has made so far this season, the impact that newcomers like Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks have had, and the improvement he’s seen from youngsters like Alperen Sengun. “We knew what he was offensively in a lot of ways and how he impacts the game for us,” Udoka said of Sengun, who is averaging a career-best 20.1 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 5.7 APG. “He can control things there. But defensively, he has taken a huge step. He’s bought in and has improved on that side of the ball.”
While the Mavericks are off to a strong start this season, losses like Sunday’s to Sacramento show that they’re still very much a work in progress on the defensive side of the ball, writes Kevin Sherrington of The Dallas Morning News (subscription required). Rookie center Dereck Lively II has exceeded expectations but has struggled to slow down star bigs such as Domantas Sabonis, who had 32 points on Sunday. “If we’re not scoring 130, it’s hard to win,” head coach Jason Kidd acknowledged.